[mechEpleb]

I would argue that this is ridiculously reductionist and probably has nothing to do with the actual decision making process on either side.

[andrewzah]

I would argue that games like go and chess are so vastly different from real life that it's not useful to make comparisons like this. Sometimes similar high-level strategies can be employed, but I'm certainly not thinking in terms of "controlling the middle" as that doesn't really make sense in real life. One can make that phrase as vague as possible to make it apply to real life, but what benefit does that bring?

[sdenton4]

Well, call me when you're two months into dealing a deal and realize you didn't place a ladder breaker and end up in a completely untenable position.

[erehweb]

The book is much better than my one-sentence summary of it. As a small example, the author notes that Communist forces would often set up bases on the boundary of two warlords' areas, so that they could not be surrounded.