Incorporating real - life warfare tactics and manipulation and deception into chess

The greatest tacticians in the world are those who think ahead. Chess grandmasters, famous generals, great world leaders, and mafia dons all share one skill: They are all many more steps ahead of their rivals.

We each have the ability to think ahead. In fact, it’s hard to imagine a functioning human who didn’t think ahead at least some of the time. You’ve probably planned what to do tonight, and you likely know the route you’re going to take to get home. Thinking ahead is one hallmark of intelligence. Without it, we’re simply slaves to our instincts and reflexes — a bit like a plant or a baby.

Every social interaction is a game of chess, trying to get inside someone’s head to navigate what they are thinking or what they will do. It’s the bane of relationships and the source of much conflict. So, what if we can be better at it? We know that chess gives us a whole host of benefits, but perhaps we can add “makes you better at getting your own way” to the list. It’s time to dust off the chessboard, indeed.

Jonny Thomson teaches philosophy at

Oxford. He runs a popular account called Mini Philosophy and his first book is Mini Philosophy: A Small Book of Big Ideas. 

This would  be an example of a very deceptive and useful trap known as the Albin counter gambit

Here is another game