The Paradox of Choice

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";a lot of options is good";

Well, in my opinion, depends on what you mean by ";a lot";

After some threshold, I think too many options is bad and disorientating for the customer. For instance, I don’t like a long list of wines at a restaurant. I prefer a careful selection. In a shop is the same: Why people value so much good vendors which know how to orientate them? Can the average customer manage more than 500 references in a wine shop?

Some times MORE IS LESS...

...After drinking a little bit, for sure.

Again, it’s a question of thresholds :-)

BTW, different openings may demand different wines to be drunk. For instance, a heartbreaking King Gambit and a quiet Caro-Kann defense cannot be played with the same wine, right? :-)

I suppose a classic Rioja would go best with the Ruy Lopez? Grans Muralles for the Catalan Opening is a perfect. What goes with the Fried Liver Attack?

I’m a Sicilian guy. I better go buy some Planeta for the weekend...

I have needed Google to discover that ";Fried Liver Attack"; is my beloved variant in the Two Knights Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6. 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7). I have played that variant many times with novices with striking results :-) Always learning something new in English... :-)

I think a Champagne or cava could be a good option, don’t you?

Bubbles might compliment its somewhat frivolous nature, but the perfect pairing would be a wine that is somewhat hot and aggressive, overripe, viscerally exciting in the short term, but fundamentally unsound for long-term cellering.

Incidentally, what do you call the Fried Liver Attack? I think that Chigorin’s name and Pegatello’s name are sometimes associated with this line.

I think it’s called ";Ataque Fegatello"; but I haven’t really used this name in the past.

Regarding the wine pairing, conceptually perhaps you are right but from a ";hedonist"; point of view I don’t like anything overripe, at least in red wines :-) I believe a light Champagne could be great!

So much talking about chess and wine, I’m starting to consider going to the great Linares chess tournament (24 February - 13 March) to follow the games with good Amontillados from Montilla-Moriles :-)