#8 Chess is a game of threat and maneuver. There is a story about a chess tournament where two guys sit down to play their match, one of them pulls out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and puts them on the table. The other guy freaks out and calls the referee over and says, "He can't do that. There's no smoking in here." The referee says, "He is not smoking". "No, but he is threatening to!" For Russia, hostile troops in Ukraine are a threat, hence the Special Military Operation.
A common chess tactic is exchanging pieces. Both sides start equal, but if you can somehow get a material advantage, you can exchange pieces one for one until the other side is depleted. At that point, it is game over. This is what we are seeing now. When this mess started, someone snarked it was a big Soviet army fighting a smaller Soviet army. What looks like a stalemate with neither side gaining territory is simply the Russians exchanging pieces until Ukraine is depleted.
The West is trying to make up the difference, but Ukraine is running out of equipment, ammo, and soldiers. The West can supply stuff, but unless it puts boots on the ground, Ukraine will run out of troops before the Russians do. Big army vs little army. |
