outclass / outwit

Coachpotato
The chess players tried very hard to ......... each other with every move in the tournament.

a)outnumber b)outclass c)outweigh d)outwit

The correct answer is d), but I wonder why b) is not possible.

Thanks for your answers.

1. outwit means to be more cunning or *more clever/

Thanks for your answer M2level.

I found this definition of the verb outclass in Cambridge dictionary:

verb [T]
to be much better than someone or something:
The latest 500 cc road bike easily outclasses all the competition.


It's for this reason I'd thought it could be possible to use outclass in the sentence.

The previous post was mine. Sorry, I forgot to log in

The clue here is the phrase "with every move". "Outwit" implies that you are using you brain to defeat your opponent, anticipating his moves, laying traps etc. "Outclass" is rather more general in its meaning; it literally means that you come in a different class.

If I had to choose one between 'outclass' and 'outwit' I would probably go with outwit, but I really don't like either one. Outwit implies that you are setting up a trap for your opponent to fall into. This very well may be the case for two ten-year-olds playing each other. But if you are a serious player, you have a definite strategy in the opening game, positioning of your pieces, and attacki

The above post is me forgetting to logon first.