"Finally, it’s totally deterministic. There’s no randomness or element of chance, which makes this a, uh, slightly less than perfect simulacrum of the world."
Yes, the game itself is deterministic, unlike say backgammon or poker. But there is an element of randomness in the quality of moves produced by the two player. As a chess master, I try to beat a lower-rated player by giving them enough chances to go wrong. Whether they do is outside my control. So good chess players, like players of non-deterministic games, are trying to maximize expectancy.
Yes, the game itself is deterministic, unlike say backgammon or poker. But there is an element of randomness in the quality of moves produced by the two player. As a chess master, I try to beat a lower-rated player by giving them enough chances to go wrong. Whether they do is outside my control. So good chess players, like players of non-deterministic games, are trying to maximize expectancy.