short-handed and aggressive play

In a short-handed 10/20 game (6 players), I was dealt AKo in the big blind.
It was folded to the small blind, who had already announced that he would chop with 7 players, but would not with 6.
He raised, I re-raised, he called.
The flop was 9, 4, 4.
He bet, I raised (with only overcards, but thinking AK was a favorite over any legit raising hand).
He re-raised, and I called.
The turn was a Queen; he bet, I called. The river was a Jack; he checked, I checked.
I checked the river because I felt that my AK had showdown value. I also felt that given the size of the pot, he would call with any piece of the board.
My opponent turned over 9,2, off-suit. Not exactly a premium hand, but good enough to win the pot with a pair of 9s.
Given the pot size, I would have been likely to call with AK on the river, so he cost himself a big bet by checking, but this hand show the value of being aggressive in short-handed play.
Often, if the game is short-handed, the more aggressive player in the pot will take down the money, especially if that player has position.
If I had raised the turn and then bet the river, my opponent would have had a tough decision to make. If you can keep forcing your opponents to make tough decisions, you'll win a lot of money, as they are bound to make the wrong decision at least some of the time.