Quote 31
A gifted human player could always triumph over the game's AI, because software couldn't improvise. (8.49)
Wade's showdown with Acererak demonstrates his competitive drive to triumph over a computer program. It also acts as a microcosm for the entire Hunt, which is basically a computer program that can't improvise either.
Quote 32
I no longer cared that we were supposed to be rivals. (17.164)
For Wade, love trumps competition. Who needs a billion dollars when you can have an online romance with someone you've never met and might even be a different gender than you want them to be? Swoon.
Quote 33
Our conversations were now stilted and reserved, as if [Aech and I] were both afraid of revealing some key piece of information the other might be able to use. (20.17)
Competition is a double-edged sword. Early on, Aech and Wade's love of competition brings them together. In the middle of the book, it starts to tear them apart. Don't worry, though—their combined competitive drive to beat IOI will bring them back together in the end.