Matt Bevan

When it comes to geopolitical chairs, I think the scholar's mate is pretty much how Donald Trump approaches foreign policy.

Sometimes the move works and he's won the game almost before it starts.

But at other times, his opponent recognises his plan and it doesn't work at all.

Case in point, Iran.

Trump went all out and now his metaphorical queen is stranded and he's found himself in deep, deep trouble.

Based on my experience of playing chess, grinding yourself to victory from this position is very difficult.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is playing this game of chess too, but he's got a far more complex strategy than Donald Trump.

Xi is playing positional chess, spending literally years organising his pieces, getting ready to claim the ultimate prize.

lot of hard-nosed geopolitical commentators.

This is the sign of a man with a plan.

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping's different gameplay styles came to a head last week when Trump visited Beijing.

Much of the talk was about how much better prepared the Chinese seemed than the Americans.

Donald Trump is certainly coming into this summit on the back foot, bogged down by the ongoing quagmire of the Iran war.

The thing is though...

Despite the contrast between the two players, one impulsive, one highly prepared, I think they're both making massive fundamental mistakes.

We've spent a long time exploring the flaws in Donald Trump's gameplay strategy.

So for the next few episodes, I want to look at how Xi Jinping is operating.

He's playing the very, very long game to take control of Taiwan.

But at what cost?

So, set up your pawns and buckle up.