In any other online place I'd be 'dmitric300' or 'dmitric' [on hackthissite] but since we are perfecting our identities I thought a new spiffy name was in order.
THE KING (KING was taken)
etymology: The most important piece in the game of chess, in the opening and mid-game you must protect the king. In the end game your king becomes one of your most powerful tools.
justification: I play first board on my team (that means I'm the best in the school)

I've read through the book (I have no claims of grandeur) and I can relate the methods to well played chess. You are the white king (not because of your skin colour but because you make the first move), she is the black king. The game starts off at the opening. It is best to know some openings and practise every possible deviation from those openings. Figure out the most advantageous positions and work on putting yourself into them. If your opponent is well versed in an opening and you know that then you must use a different one to catch them off guard. White should stay in control at the beginning of the game, Black goes on the defensive.

The white pawns, bishops, nights, rooks and queen are all elements that can be used to break down the black king's defenses. They are your stories, dress, NEGS, tricks, private locations etc. However you can't just throw them all against the black king since her defenses are just as strong, you must be precise, applying pressure to weaknesses in the shield she has built up. Most importantly: you must build up the initiative, you must have the attack. However in some positions going head on would be suicide, you must take time to cement things before you let the position 'explode' so that when the smoke clears, you are the better man standing. It is possible to give some ground, let black overreach herself. Then attack where her defenses have weakened.

If you hit the opponent where she doesn't see it coming you can separate her from her defences, when that happens and you press the attack it's as if those defenses aren't even there. If she makes a mistake and gets emotional about it, she'll just end up making more and more mistakes making your job easier, playing it cool is important. However if you hesitate and give her time to recuperate you'll miss your chance and the tables may turn on you.

Finally if they have managed to hold out to a fair end game that is when all the moves become critical. You must think ahead at this point, calculate every possible move and figure out who will get where they need to be first. If you can queen that last pawn you've been protecting it's all over for black: checkmate. However if you rush into things without thinking through you may make one careless mistake and it's stalemate (LMR), you have her where you want her but there's no way to continue.

I liken being a pick up artist to playing a perfect game. There's no room for mistakes, if your opponent is good and you lose a piece you're jolly well screwed. Sure you may be able to take advantage of your opponents cockiness and gain it back but more often then not you'll lose. Even though these girls know their chess, they've mostly played it against chumps. They probably only know just enough to wipe the floor with them and they're confident in their abilities. However when a good player <you> comes along, they don't see it coming.

And for the chumps out there, there's always fool's mate!

This post was a bit long and all but at least I didn't go off about my cat.


**If I said something stupid or incorrect, let me know. I'm trying to learn.