Battle Tactics and Strategy; Thursday, Fourth Period [01/25].

[chef_chocobro]

Walking into the classroom that week, the students should be able to quickly discern what the lesson would be about just by looking at how it was set up, and, if not, then perhaps you may be needing this class far more than Ignis believed he could help you with.

Because the desks were arranged in a way that they were paired up with a chess board on each one. He did wait a moment, right after the bell went off, for everyone to decide if they were just going to claim a spot at one of the table straight away, or just wait a moment before relegating them to the fate of probably having to combat whoever ended up across from them, and then he began.

"Anyone even slightly familiar with the game of chess," he stated, "should know that it is, indeed, an incredibly logical follow-up to a discussion about order of battle. It is, after all, an abstract game almost entirely build to strategy and planning and moving units with particular roles and specifications across a field with one ultimate goal: to capture the king. And while chess seems to have a remarkably impressive influence across the multiverse, we will take a moment to go over how to play the game and discuss the various pieces and perhaps a few common tactics to employ, which will hopefully serve as a refresher for those of you already familiar with the game, and a point of inspiration and instruction for those who may be learning of it for the first time or have only a passing exposure to the game. Then, of course, you will find yourself a worthy opponent or two, time permitting, and face off.

"I'd like," he added, "for you all to pay particular attention to the ways in which your opponent is playing, as well as being mindful of what strategies you employ yourself. There is a good chance it will be a topic of heavy discussion next week, but today? It's all just about the game."

His smile suggested, of course, that nothing was ever all about just the game, and it lingered, for just a moment, before he began to divulge the lesson.

Comments

Re: Talk to the Teacher - Battle Tactics, 01/25.

[chef_chocobro]

"Oh," said Ignis, who, hearing even the soft touch of the pieces being set up on the (unquestionably inferior) board, had moved to the desk and already pulled out one of the chairs, "an opponent well-studied will inevitably prove to be one far more rewarding than one that may come and go with but fleeting regard. Though, it's interesting..."

With that, he sat, taking a moment to send his hand out to find the edge of the board, and, after that, to determine what pieces she had set up already and which ones might be left for him to assist with.

"...that you mention how the game itself has changed, but that's not necessarily true, now, is it? The strategies, the tactics, the plotting and planning, surely, but it is still, fundamentally, the same rules, the same pieces, the same moves, just ordered differently...."

Re: Talk to the Teacher - Battle Tactics, 01/25.

[deathsmajesty]

"Well," Liliana said, handing over several pieces for him to set up on his own side of the board, "far be it for me to tell the chef his business, but couldn't one say something very similar about cooking? Take a soufflé, for instance. The same rules, mostly the same ingredients, generally prepared the same way, but with those few changes to ingredients, you have an entirely different dish. Sweet or savory, a meal or a dessert...even a plain soufflé served differently - say, sugared with a side of ice cream, versus with a rich gravy over a thick cut of meat and sautéed vegetables - can change your appreciation of the dish entirely. Is it the same thing? Well, yes. So sayeth pedantry, at least. But pedantry struggles against actual experience, I've often found." She gave him a cheeky smile and, as she'd taken the white pieces for herself, moved her first pawn. "B3."