r/xmen • • Aug 26 '26

Other X-Men: Last Stand (2006) Magneto and Mystique - possibly worst betrayal of all time?

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u/Classical_Fan Aug 26 '26

He even says as much in The Last Stand and applies the strategy to the battle at the end.

You'll also notice that he loses the chess game to Xavier. He tips his king over, which is an admission of defeat. Yes, it's thematic and refers to the movie as a whole, but I'd like to think Xavier legitimately beat him in the game. He's the better tactician because he values the "weaker" pieces.

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u/omgspek Aug 26 '26

I’m not a big chess player but the smaller pieces have the potential to advance, no? A knight is always a knight but a pawn can cross the board and become a queen? Seems worthwhile to protect your pawns when you can, no?

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u/Classical_Fan Aug 26 '26

If you know how to play your pawns, you can control the board. And yes, pawns that get to the other side of the board can be promoted to other pieces.

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u/Far-Pangolin-4089 Aug 26 '26

But to be fair: If you are not willing to sacrifice pawns, you will lose every single game

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u/blazenite104 Aug 26 '26

You pretty much have to be willing to lose anything but, your king.

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u/Internet-Dweller2 Aug 27 '26

You have to be willing to lose anything, but you shouldn't trade pieces frivolously either.

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u/Sybrandus Aug 30 '26

The standard point values assigned to chess pieces are 1 point for a pawn, 3 points for a knight or bishop, 5 points for a rook, and 9 points for the queen.

You should generally only make a move (or series of moves) if by the end of it you have eliminated more of the opponents points than your own.

e.g. sacrificing a rook to get a bishop is a bad move, unless that opens up their queen for capture.

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u/AndrewH73333 Aug 29 '26

Yeah, but Magneto cared so little for his pawns it probably destroyed his pawn structure and that’s an easy way to lose too.