[Mokka]

I don't think your analogies are quite exact Raph:
1. If the field of study is BB... then really all one really needs for education or enlightenment on how it works is how to read people, associate with people, manipulate people, and staying on step ahead. While granted some recruits are their for looks and have zero substance... there is nothing that prevents them from understanding how to work the people in the house having not studied the game,

2. I don't think one needs to play chess to play BB. and I don't think BB and chess are as parallel as you think... BB has way more variables. I knight may only be able to move in an L shape in Chess, but in BB something will occur to change the rules and that knights constraints will be lifted.

What I think is, in keeping with your chess analogy... Lately super fans have been getting boxed in by seeing BB as a chess game... ie) if I have this set up in week 4, I will definitely have this in week 5... but it is the smart recruits that seem to be able to roll with the punches and the ebb and tides of BB game changes. I think the superfans come in with tunnel vision, making their game less fine tuned than you think