Part 1: The camels discover the game of "chess".Part 2: Oscar discusses a "problem" with his opponent.
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Part 3:
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Oscar sighed. "Hasn't anyone explained this to you? There's only one problem with this game..."
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"A problem? What ever could it be?"
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"Something you'll eventually find out. It's a fantastic game, yet..."
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Oscar paused for a second before continuing,"...there's more strategy to it than what you see on the board."
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His opponent seemed confused.
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"You see, when I was a young lad, chess was a royal game. It was played in lavish palaces, decorated in the finest gold, silver, and white diamonds. People came from all over the world to see the matches, and those who performed well lived in luxury."
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Oscar's opponent's eyes began to dazzle. He could see the brightness of the light gleaming on his pieces. For a moment, even his small rickety stool began to feel like a throne. "Amazing! But tell me, Oscar, why do we live in rags?"
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"Haven't you ever heard of the expression 'it's too good to be true'? Well, that's exactly what happened. As more and more money was piled into the game, people became increasingly greedy...and that was just the start of the downfall"
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"Please tell me more."
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"Look closer at what I have in my hand."
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"A small bag?"
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"Not just any small bag. This kind of bag was once used to hold just about anything a person in the desert needed. It could hold water better than a metal container. It could hold salt and spices...money and valuables. It could even be used as a lucky charm. Deserters would carry hundreds of these little pouches everywhere they would go."
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"And how does this relate to chess?"
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"Well, one of the most common uses for these bags was as a weight. Each time a heavy load needed to be tied down, several little bags were filled with sand to keep the load in place. They became known as 'sand bags'."
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"I still don't see where this is going."
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"Hang on. I'm getting there. Though that was the most common use, chess players found another solution. By then, chess tournaments had become so large, expensive, and potentially rewarding that players would go to any extent to get an unfair advantage."
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"How would they do that?"
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"In smaller tournaments, players knew each other fairly well. They would talk between games, and figure out each other's style of play. Some even became friends. Using this knowledge, some players would fill sand bags with specific game information. This included who had the most potential in larger tournaments, and who was just in it for fun. These information collectors would pay the tournament coordinator (who they often knew very well) to organize the playing schedule based on a calculated mapping scheme. This way, the less serious players would play against the rising stars, who were instructed to lose on purpose."
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"I think I see how this works."
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"When a larger tournament was held, the stars were placed in groups much lower than their skill level. They would go on to win much larger prizes for their particular region. Meanwhile, the less serious players would be satisfied with their winnings in smaller tournaments, and could tolerate many larger tournament losses. While some were suspicious, no one was able to find any evidence of foul play as the information was hidden in the thousands of sand bags that circulated daily. This became known as 'sandbagging'"
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"Then wouldn't the process of fortune continue forever?"
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"Eventually, sandbagging became so widespread that tournament groups became a mess. Coordinators began to argue with sandbaggers. Younger stars became discouraged with losing all the time in the more frequent smaller tournaments, especially if they couldn't really afford to attend all the larger events. The list goes on, but one thing's for sure...no one could stand the chaos stemming from the basic drive for money. Eventually, the royal game itself became an insignificant piece that would slowly fade away..."
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...to be continued!!!
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In chess, this can easily become an issue, since players are grouped based on rating. Ratings can be somewhat manipulated in a variety of ways. I have included a variety of links that discuss the issue of sandbagging:
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Why did the knight decline the new year's vacation?
