Does Go count? Well, the exact game doesn’t matter anyway, it’s more about the situation.
I played at a group tournament once, groups of three, typically arranged in descending order of skill. I was third board (least skilled in our group).
One match, their third board was genuinely atrocious. I fleeced that kid hard and felt so bad about it, but intentionally playing badly would’ve felt even more rude (and hey, this is a tournament). It was clear he had no idea of the standard patterns, and while I wasn’t particularly proficient with the opening, it was enough to carry me to mid- and endgame where those standard patterns were just dominant. He was so determined and hopeful each new attempt to gain something and so crushed every time he figured out that it was going nowhere.
Next match, the group had pulled a strawman: Putting the worst on first board, hoping that their best and second best would win second and third board. And boy, did they ever. Pretty sure they would have won in normal order too, with the serving of asswhoop they put on that table. I got to sit on the other end of that previous beatdown, outplayed from the start, as he managed to find the cracks in every play I made.
Still feel bad for the kid though. I hope I didn’t kill his enjoyment of the game.
Does Go count? Well, the exact game doesn’t matter anyway, it’s more about the situation.
I played at a group tournament once, groups of three, typically arranged in descending order of skill. I was third board (least skilled in our group).
One match, their third board was genuinely atrocious. I fleeced that kid hard and felt so bad about it, but intentionally playing badly would’ve felt even more rude (and hey, this is a tournament). It was clear he had no idea of the standard patterns, and while I wasn’t particularly proficient with the opening, it was enough to carry me to mid- and endgame where those standard patterns were just dominant. He was so determined and hopeful each new attempt to gain something and so crushed every time he figured out that it was going nowhere.
Next match, the group had pulled a strawman: Putting the worst on first board, hoping that their best and second best would win second and third board. And boy, did they ever. Pretty sure they would have won in normal order too, with the serving of asswhoop they put on that table. I got to sit on the other end of that previous beatdown, outplayed from the start, as he managed to find the cracks in every play I made.
Still feel bad for the kid though. I hope I didn’t kill his enjoyment of the game.