Gurgeh lands on the Empire's home planet of Eä, accompanied by another drone, Flere-Imsaho. As a Culture citizen, he naturally plays with a style markedly different from his opponents, many of whom stack the odds against him one way or another, including by forming backroom agreements to cooperate against him (which is allowed by the game's rules) and placing bets on the game requiring the castration of the loser. As he advances through the tournament he is matched against increasingly powerful Azad politicians, and ultimately the Emperor himself in the final round.
Gurgeh lands on the Empire's home planet of Eä accompanied by another drone Flere-Imsaho As a Culture citizen he naturally plays with a style markedly different from his opponents many of whom stack the odds against him one way or another including by forming backroom agreements to cooperate against him (which is allowed by the game's rules) and placing bets on the game requiring the castration of the loser As he advances through the tournament he is matched against increasingly powerful Azad politicians and ultimately the Emperor himself in the final round