That is glorious.

His tactics involve sacrificing too many pieces. He can win, but he has little of his kingdom intact. What is the point of victory if your friends are in the ground.

Logan the Krogan he achieves his goal, he doesn't care about sacrifices (or rather he accepts them for his "greater good")

Aha! We are learning strategy's how to beat him in the next game.

why do you think he won the war against the evanuris?

Or you could see the Inquisitor as the Queen. A powerful piece Bull wants to protect, and that Solas tosses away to win.

@@Her_Imperious_Condescension ooo I like that

quick pin this before it gets buried in the comments

Omg *BOOM* mindblowing! O.O

Damnnn

Anyone care to elaborate on the "representation of how both characters think and strategize" bit Alison was on about?

@@snowtree07 i only play a couple chess game in my life so correct me if I'm wrong. Iron Bull plays offensively by using his Arishok to take Solas pieces, while Solas on the other hand focuses on getting check mate

snowtree07 solas sacrificed most of his pawns(the people), his queen(mythal), and used his mage(himself)to strike the winning blow.

***** Especially the mental games are completely random.

That's probably because the game in question is a very famous chess game played between two famous and skilled players of the Romantic era. More so white, who was Adolf Anderssen, who at the time was considered the unofficial world champion.

You're not the only one. I'm glad this video exists, that way I have visual context as to the game's layout.

when you realize one of Iron Bull's hobbies is getting whacked at, just think about how much more brilliant he would be if he got hit less lol

there's another great one in Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows between Holmes and Moriarti. Also a wonderful video breaking it down by Lord Ravenscroft

I feel like Solas as Anderssen (one of the better players of the romantic school) makes a lot of sense. I don't agree with Bull's play style. When not in a battle frenzy, Bull strikes me as a positional player.

Funny if you put it like that: Corypheus is more similar to Solas then? Unconcerned with decimation of his pawns, he plots to win in the end.... Except he's crap.

someone else also mentioned it... "Solas lets the enemy take his pawns (people), sacrifices his queen (Mythal), while the mage (himself) sits in silence waiting for an opportunity to strike the winning blow."

Think about how Bull cherished his chargers though, and how bitter he would be if you let them die. He feels every sacrifice and does his best to preserve his army for the next fights, it's very on brand of him and I love it

This kinda reminds me of a support conversation in Fire Emblem : Awakening. Two tacticians are playing a game (supposedly chess) and one is playing to win, sacrificing pieces in doing so and the other is conserving his pieces heavily, seeing them as precious. Not quite the aame, but I still like seeing connections between games and the reL qorld, however vague they may be.

Proof that Sera plays checkers while others play chess.

Zackly

vampirelordx1 I never thought a Qunari would've been able to play mental chess...impressive!

Also does a lot of Foreshadowing to Solas because this was his play in the game pretty much. Sacrifice all the essential pieces, get the enemy distracted by what they think is a major threat and when they aren’t looking a simple pawn comes in trips up the enemy and the “Mage” takes the queen.

Wreav M'dama iron bull is way more intelligent then any of us.

@@S117M4sterChief Qunari's isn't exactly known to be dim-witted. They are the same folk who invented explosives more efficient than Dwarven Lyrium bomb and a method to brainwash people without magic. The Qun strives for mastery of one's role; coincidentally, Bull is a spy in foreign lands, an exceptional degree of mental and intellectual proficiency wouldn't be surprising.

Sai WEEEEEKES *shakes fist*

Tcab96 I lost it at “you sneaky son of a bitch.” You can just hear the smug look growing on Sola’s face

If Bull saves his crew and goes against his system, Solas starts to asknowledge his free will and independence enough to play chess with him. Logical.

well said girl.

lol i would imagine considering at the beginning, Solas addresses The Iron Bull as Tal'vashoth

It protects the White Queen from the Black Queen, if Bull could've done Queen to F6 he would have stopped the Checkmate

Solas' gambit had a few moving parts involving a space that Bull's Arishok (Queen) would have threatened without the pawn blocking it. The pawn made sure that Bull's Arishok couldn't come in at 3:13 to kill the Knight and negate the check that forces Bull's king to move where the white Queen (3:20) and then the white Mage (Bishop, 3:33) will ultimately keep him in check mate. Note that if Solas had moved his Mage first instead of his Queen, Bull's Ben-Hassrath (Knight) would have taken it at e7 and blocked the queen from pulling off the checkmate when it moved in a turn later. Solas had to sacrifice his Queen to draw the Ben-Hassrath out of position. Again, without the pawn being where it was, Bull could have captured the Queen with his own Arishok, and the Ben-Hassrath wouldn't have had to move. Ultimately, that pawn was integral to the entire gambit that resulted in checkmate.

And the pawn is main character in DA:I

Justina (queen) died, all according to solas plan.

sounds like something that solas would do. use a pawn to let HIM claim victory

+Camila Fayad I know, right? Also note how he sacrifices his queen -__-

LilithWolfheart oh man, of course he would do that ;A;

+LilithWolfheart oh fuck

+Camila Fayad (warning to readers: Here be spoilers) Good synopsis. :) I did not see this connection until you described it here. Well done! :) However I will meekly point out that there are an almost equal number of 'pieces' between Iron Bull and Solas. In other words, he did not 'kill' everyone. In fact there is one more pawn of his than Bull on the board and it is a pawn, not a 'queen' nor a king nor even a 'mage' that corners the king. I think this represents something about him as well. :) He cares about the 'ordinary folk' because I think he knows very well what it's like to be them. There are many other points and similarities/representations that your comment helps me to see, and I thank you greatly for that, but I will end on a note that perhaps reveals how much of a sucker I am for Solas/underdogs. :p Remember at this time, the Breach is still in full swing, things are looking really grim for everyone, especially Solas because despite "one of the glasses is poisoned" Corypheus still has a huge advantage over the Inquisition. I think this chess match represents more of Solas' awareness of the Qun waiting for the war to weaken Thedas enough for them to take over at this time. He is running out of options and, especially, time to save the Inquisitor (note, whether he likes them or not he still saves them from the Mark). Would we not expect him to make huge sacrifices to ensure that the Redcliffe future doesn't happen? I mean, if I was in Solas' place, I'd cringe to see what the world had become too and want to fix it. To him the world has already become the Redcliffe-future, and something worse is unimaginably horrifying to him. The 'world ending' equating to tearing down the Veil and rendering the Templar/non-magic user vs. Mage/mage-user conflict, and all other current belief based conflicts invalid. ....Sorry for rambling. I do that a lot. Thanks again for such a great comment! :D

+Camila Fayad Ooops, quick note (because I wasn't really paying attention the first time), I've confused Bull's queen with his king. So it was a 'mage' that corned Bull's king after all. My propitiation of Solas' past plebdom still stands though. :)

Bit iron bull has more pieces in reserve and is now more ready to fight a protracted war.

If it makes you feel any better, his real queen was probably Mythal and not you :D

I have good and bad news Good news: you're not the queen Bad news: you are the pawn

You weren't even important enough to be a queen,at best you're simply the piece that he calls a mage (Side note ,I know all pieces in chess can be important)

My Lavellan rouge hooked up with Iron bull, she's a redhead lol.

@@PsyrenXY damn. That's cold.....

In his first quest he made it clear that he WAS playing a tal-vashot, so he could live among the orlesians. That is his role - "The Iron Bull". Although he does like to hit things with his horns, to scream and butting, his ACTUAL role in the Qun is a SPY. He is Ben-Hassrat, OF COURSE he know tactis and people, that's what A SPY does, lol. Your comment has no sense. It seems to me you didn't understand his character at all.

@@VeenJen Did you just want to say someone was wrong without much cause because they didn’t actually say anything about Bull not being a spy but rather this being a showcase of how he is capable and can think logically and lead. Nobody said that he was solely a mercenary.

This isn't just any old game, it's the Immortal Game of 1851. Google it.

I mapped it out on a chessboard one time when I found the dialogue transcripts on the wiki. Was so cool to see the game play out.

Rare cases, usually those who have chess for brains, people with wide imagination & strategic input. Techinically speaking, a bunch of really smart S.O.Bs. ^_^

How can anyone walk trough dreams or manipulate magic? as for Bull, i'm going with the Qun giving him a super disciplined mind.

Practice? Or blood magic. Probably blood magic.

dominic marino Not to mention he is probably a master tactician. Specifically saying he works well with small groups. like the 16 vs 16 style of a chess game.

I know, right? Ben-Hassrath, remember?

and then there's Sera...

Jason Miller uhhhh....King me?

yep

even more impressive when you consider the fact that they kept this game going mentally and then bring it up randomly during different segments of their travels

+Rikusgirl001 Ah, King me!

i'm sera

Damn bull-riding fade nerd.

No-no it's not just you.

Klineyful I'm melting

As a straight guy, I agree that this is hot to listen to.

@@madhouse2594 yay everyone can appreciate their big brains

It shows he will sacrifice everything in next game. His elven army consisting city elves/some dalish elves/his remaining sentinels. Btw Solas` story makes no sense, he doesn't like black/white stories yet he says elven gods- old ones are all bad guys BUT HE is the great saver.... Pfff.. I want to hear how the other gods see this first... I want to beat the shit out from him, and kill him Anders style if he is beyond the point of saving. Then go and kick the eleven gods asses/subdue them...(1-2 elven god will change sides thats my bet) So femLavellan transforming into a real elven leader with next MC as her second in command hue..

And Iron Bull, as well.

because that set of plays has not been replicated competetively and is a piece of gaming history

There are several interesting tidbits of real history being refernced in Bioware's games. Like how the Treaty of Farixen is an analogy for the 1922 Washington Naval Conference.

it's a foreshadowing for what solas does during DAI's plot, sacrificing everything to achieve his goal (especially his queen if you consider the possible romance with an elven female inquisitor)

​@@ItsMeStrider I see It as your the pawn since you were at the wrong place at the right time yet you are one of the reasons everything turned out well at the end.

It appears in many media, most notably Blade Runner.

+Cole Jordan A month ago, but still: My mind went KABOOOM. Mage Inquisitor. What if... WHAT THE ACTUAL IF.

+XxTefnutxX See this is why i never preferred mages. I agree w sera in the sense that a well placed arrow can solve all your problems.

Well, Mark Darrah did post a tweet containing a video of a red book with a tower/rook and a wolf on it. It would be interesting if DA4 had some sort of chess/tactical theme, though it might be a smaller spin-off game too because Bioware has been asking players if they'd be interested in that sort of thing.

If he tries to assassinate Alistair I'll flay Solas seven ways from sunday. If he kills Bhelen I will be somewhat upsety. Yes he's a reforming equal opportunities tyrant, but he still framed a perfectly suitable heir to the throne for his crime.

In my game, Alistair is with my mage warden. If Solas tried anything, she would not hesitate to blood magic the shit out of him.

@Burnt Potatoes But how could Dorian cheat if its mental chess? Lol

And Leliana - she plays chess with Cullen if Dorian isn't recruited.

@@saltedbuttercups >implying Dorian is above using the verbal equivalent of distracting ur opponent and then pretending those pieces were always there

off topic, but i think Dorian and Zev would get along well

Leliana plays with Cullen if Dorian is in skyhold but you haven't spoken to him yet to recruit him

?

pieniaurinko He only understood the king me part of the video, at the very end.

GrayWolf1192 Ohhh, thanks. Now *I* feel dumb.. The basic rules for chess aren't that complicated though. The strategic part is more so of course, as seen in this game. ;)

Both of us are savage Tal-Vashoth.

i still don't get it

It stops Bull's queen from taking Solas' knight at g7 (3:15) which forces Bull to move his King to d8 which is what traps him in position for the checkmate.

ah ok, thank you