Most sporting events, or other forms of competition (e.g., a chess match, a game of checkers or bridge), are what are known as zero sum games—for every winner, there is a loser. In addition, in most forms of competition, even small advantages generally lead to a very high persistence of superior performance. For instance, in a chess match, if one player is just slightly better than his opponent, it is likely that he will win the vast majority of the games. Let's look at how this information allows us to determine why persistence exists and how we can tell if it is skill or luck.
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