"Putin uses over and over again the same strategy. And why not -- it works. The basic rules of chess are well known...
Control the center before attacking, pawns are the foundation of strategy, don´t check if not necessary, dominate as much territory as possible, avoid trading a developed piece for a not developed one, etc., They are all here, ´101 Essential Chess Tips.´
Read ´em and weep."
* * *
Let´s do something different -- start at the start:
Control the center...
Why is that important? Chess com explains it well:
"The importance of the 'centre' of the chessboard is often stressed to beginners, but the reasons are not always explained. One of the reasons that the centre is important is that the chess pieces control more squares from the centre and are therefore usually better placed there.
Try this exercise: Place a King, Queen, Rook, Bishop and Knight in turn on the square e4 of an otherwise empty board and count how many squares each piece could move to from that square. Repeat this for square h4 and square h1. Make a note of your answers and compare to the table below.
e4
h4
h1
King
8
5
3
Queen
27 21
21
Rook 14 14
14
Bishop 13
7
7
Knight
8 4
2
You can see that most pieces control more squares when they are nearer to the centre of the board. On the edge of the board they can be less effective, and the poor Knight is crippled by being on a corner square.
The number of squares that your pieces control is vital for determining how much influence they have on the game. So, try to keep your pieces posted on active squares where they have lots of freedom. More often than not this means putting them near the middle of the board and avoiding the edges and corners. "
Putin is a master at controlling the center. The United States doesn´t have a clue as to what he is doing or why. I would write it all off as simply not in American culture to compete at this sort of thing, were it not for two words:
Bobby Fischer
Is it possible to defeat an opponent who controls the center? Bobby did it. They don´t call it "The Game of The Century for Nothing." To watch it on youtube, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M624T3PTggU
All Washington has to do is extrapolate, e.g., note the economy of Bobby´s moves. One move serves many purposes, both offensively and defensively. Sacrifice a queen? Unheard of.
In the end, Bobby showed there is no defense against creativity -- except creativity.
Putin is not creative. He is a one-trick pony.
The problem is that China, unlike the U.S., learned from Putin and is following the same control-the-center strategy.
The latest example: China yesterday (May 17,, 2020) announced it would support an inquiry into coronavirus but only after the pandemic has subsided.
After...
In a word; China is trying to define the situation.
He who controls the definitions of the situation controls the situation. He who controls the situation, makes the rules of the game. He who makes the rules of the game has the power and wins the game.
Beijing, unlike Washington, understands that definitions not only matter, they determine what happens next. They are the center of the political chess board.
Which brings me to an inevitable conclusion:
Donald Trump, Pentagon, CIA et al: if 13-year-old Bobby Fisher can do it, why can´t you?