It may be an example of a different bias at play, specifically confirmation bias: they don’t realize that the stones are being wasted and can’t be retrieved. For example, chess masters commit confirmation bias less than weaker players.
(It’s not that the players explicitly realize that there are better moves elsewhere but decide to keep playing the suboptimal moves anyway, because of sunk costs which would be sunk cost bias; it’s that they don’t think of what the opponent might do—which is closer to ‘thoughtlessness’.)
It may be an example of a different bias at play, specifically confirmation bias: they don’t realize that the stones are being wasted and can’t be retrieved. For example, chess masters commit confirmation bias less than weaker players.
(It’s not that the players explicitly realize that there are better moves elsewhere but decide to keep playing the suboptimal moves anyway, because of sunk costs which would be sunk cost bias; it’s that they don’t think of what the opponent might do—which is closer to ‘thoughtlessness’.)