From Hopes & Fears:
Hopes&Fears answers questions with the help of people who know what
they're talking about. Today we second-guess an adage with the help of
war, chess and gaming experts.
Strategy matters. Packers coach Vince Lombardi once famously stated, "The best defense is a good offense," or was that Mao Zedong? But is this really
true? We asked experts in chess, gaming and military history to break
the adage down to its most basic bits. Is a good offense the best
defense or... is a good defense the best offense?
Richard K Betts
War and Peace Studies professor,
International Security Policy Program dir.
at Columbia University
A defense can’t conquer territory or destroy targets in the adversary’s territory.
The proposition that the best defense is a good offense
is plausible, since one might possibly prevent an enemy from striking by
striking first.
Bryan Quick
executive director of the Marshall Chess Club,
established in 1931 in Greenwich Village,
one of the oldest chess clubs in the United States
With regards to chess, as the great Adolf Anderssen said: “Attack!
Always attack!” And another, Emanuel Lasker: “The process of making
pieces in Chess do something useful
(whatever it may be) has received a special name: it is called the attack. The attack is that process by means of which you remove obstructions.”...
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