it's also imo an error to think of stories like death note as being a battle of wits in the sense that you should expect the characters to make optimal decisions. that's a flawed approach to any text, but death note in particular i think tricks people into thinking it's about a highly optimised game of chess specifically because the characters are highly intellectual and their game is likewise very thoughtfully planned and stepped out. however that's a misdirect. it's almost never about a battle of wits, it's always a battle of personality. the question "who's smarter, L or light" has almost nothing to do with who could reasonably be expected to win their fight. L is smarter. L can't win, not because of his intellect but because of his character. L can't win because light is his opponent and they are so well-matched in personality that neither can resist making a tactically poor move because it would be the "right" move in their game and they need to see if the other is going to match them. it's not chess, it's poker. it's a tango. it's a game of tennis where the goal isn't to score a point but to rally as long as possible. it's almost a team game. near doesn't beat light because he's smarter than light or L, he beats light because light steps up to do a choreographed dance and near just shoots him with a gun. the reason near wins while L can't is that L and light are playing each other's game to play, but near isn't playing, he's just trying to win
