Would You Rather?

Here are the weekend answers & five new questions...hope everyone had a nice holiday!

OLD

1. Would you rather learn an opening from a top grandmaster or from a player the opening is named after (assuming you are learning an opening named after a person, such as Petroff, Philidor, etc.)?

I think it would be cool to learn an opening from someone it was named after. While you can almost always find some sort of great instructor to teach you openings (if you have the time and $ of course!), it's a unique opportunity to be taught the underlying principles of an opening from the original perspective.

2. Would you rather win a game with a queen sacrifice or with a 10-move forced combination?

Both are fantastic, especially when a brilliancy prize is involved, but a 10-move forced combination requires more technique and insight in most cases (that would be my choice).

3. Would you rather go on vacation to play in a large chess tournament or go on vacation without a chess board in sight (but come back to chess after the vacation!)?

When I used to go on European chess trips, I often wondered how much nicer the trip would be if all my time was devoted to siteseeing rather than preparing for chess games. However, as I grew up, I realized many of those chess trips weren't so bad afterall - through the tournaments, you get to meet a lot of people with similar interests yet different styles + have something interesting to do (play chess or enjoy the tournament atmosphere) + the days you do look around town are more highly-valued. Considering these factors, I would usually lean towards the large chess tournament. However, given my current circumstance, there's no way for me to prepare for a large tournament, so I'll have to settle for smaller vacations without chess :(

4. Would you rather participate in a chess camp/event or be an instructor at a chess camp/event?

Teaching chess is hard work! It's really rewarding for everyone, but wow, it can be exhausting if you care about instructing properly. I still love teaching roles once in awhile, but it would be cool to be a participant again!

5. Would you rather play chess against the Prime Minister of Canada (Harper) or the President of the U.S. (Obama)?

Maybe Obama...if I lose, Obama seems more sympathetic than Harper...and if I win, I can hide back here in Canada hahaha!

NEW

1. Would you rather see chess combined (in some way) with soccer or with basketball?

2. Would you rather play chess at noon or at midnight?

3. Would you rather get an extra hour on your chess clock in a standard weekend game (not the active 30 min. or short time control games) or an extra pawn? Assume your opponent is not granted the same benefit.

4. Would you rather pay $100 for one 'amazing' chess book or $20 each for five 'okay' chess books of similar size to the 'amazing' book?

5. Would you rather go to a 5-week chess training camp (half-day, five times per week) with an instructor of choice or get 5 weeks of private lessons (say, a couple of hours, once or twice per week) with an instructor of choice? Assume the instructor only teaches in groups at the camp, but individually in private.