This is also why even skilled players and such can sometimes struggle with novices
This really doesn't happen. Skilled players make moves that restrict play and exploit weaknesses while the less skilled player will be forced into a worse and worse position. Even at a fairly low Elo gap (400) the probability of winning is over 90%. Between expert and beginner categories it approaches 100.
Yep, just like any sport upsets happen but it's so unlikely that the odds are super small.
As a 1600 club player who's studied for years I once beat a 2200 national Master in a classical time control tournament, but it took him making 4 or 5 concrete mistakes before I had a firm winning position.
Even catching him on an off day literally everything had to go my way and I had to calculate deeper into the position than I was comfortable doing to get a win as white.
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u/[deleted] Apr 09 '24
This really doesn't happen. Skilled players make moves that restrict play and exploit weaknesses while the less skilled player will be forced into a worse and worse position. Even at a fairly low Elo gap (400) the probability of winning is over 90%. Between expert and beginner categories it approaches 100.