p.17-18 the positional [chess] player is occupied, first and foremost, with the elaboration of the
position that will allow him to develop in the unknown future. In playing the positional style, the player must evaluate
relational and material parameters as independent variables. [Aron] Katsenelinboigen writes:
(1) First and foremost, the weight function includes not only material parameters as independent (the controlling)
variables, but also positional (relational) parameters. (2) The evaluation of material and positional parameters comprising
the weight function are, to a certain extent, unconditional; that is, they are independent of the specific conditions, but
do take into account the rules of the game and statistics (Concept of Indeterminism 50)
The positional style gives the [chess] player the opportunity to develop a position until it becomes pregnant
with a combination. However, the combination is not the final goal of the positional player - it helps him to achieve the
desirable, keeping in mind a predisposition for the future development. The Pyrrhic victory is the best example of one's inability
to think positionally. Katsenelinboigen writes:
As the game progressed and defense became more sophisticated the combinational style of play declined....The
positional style of chess does not eliminate the combinational one with its attempt to see the entire program of action in
advance. The positional style merely prepares the transformation to a combination when the latter becomes feasible
(Selected Topics 21)
p.36 The roots of one's subjective [particular to a given person] evaluation lie in the fact that the executor
cannot be separated from the evaluator, who evaluates the system in accordance with his or her own particular ability to develop
it. This can be observed in chess, in which the same position is evaluated differently by different chess players... Katsenelinboigen
writes:
The subjective element arises not because the set of positional parameters and their valuations are formed
based on a player's intuition. Rather, the choice of relevant parameters depends on the actual executor of the position, that
is, the particular strengths and weaknesses of a given player. The role of the executor becomes vital because the actual realization
of the position is not known beforehand, so future moves will have to be made based on the contingent situation at hand. (Indeterministic
Economics 70)
In talking about subjective and objective valuations of the positional variables, Katsenelinboigen explains
why subjectivity of the managerial decisions is inevitable:
The original subjective evaluation of the situation by the decision-maker is critical in the creative strategic
management. Subjectivity of the managerial decisions is inevitable due to the intrinsically indeterministic nature of the
strategic management, meaning that the subjectivity arises not just because of the lack of scientific foundation in business
management. The effective approach to the strategic decision-making, as demonstrated in the game of chess, presupposes that
each player has a unique, individual vision of his strategic position. To make it more systematic, one should not substitute
the player's intuition with some objective laws that relate essential and positional parameters, but rather complement the
intuition with the statistical analysis (Concept of Indeterminism 164)
