Chinese style

Something caught my attention while browsing through the lineups of top-seeded participating federations to the Dresden Olympiad on chessresults.com.

The lineups of the No.3 seed Chinese federation for men and women teams seem very simple and straightforward.

Well, what do I mean by that?

I am particularly referring to board assigments -- that is, who will man which board?

The simplicity comes this way: China's highest rated participating player is assigned to man Board 1. The next second highest rated participating player takes Board 2, and so on.

The same scheme goes with its women team, where China's highest rated participating female player -- the sensational 14-year old Hou Yifan -- takes Board 1.

Very straightforward, indeed. No ifs, no buts. Just plain and simple fighting stance. Best foot forward.

Walang ka-ek-ekan. Walang arte. Meet the opponents head on. Strength versus strength.

Chinese wisdom? I don't know. Does strict discipline (read: Communism) have something to do with it?

As for the Team Philippines, the lowest rated participating player for the Dresden Olmpiad, in the name of GM Bong Villamayor, will man Board 1.

Strategy? It's like this -- try to draw top boards and collect points from the lower boards since the Dresden Olympiad will use the match point system.

One step backward, two steps forward? Isn't this strategy supposed to be a Chinese one?