Here are some interesting excerpts;
There has been
an
interesting discussion on this topic over in the Daily Dirt and the
concept of “stock exchange chess.” The inimitable American GM Alex
Yermolinsky
cut
through the BS about how fans want GMs to dance and sing and play
beautiful chess when they are trying to make a living. “Our chess heroes
do not exist in an outer space void, they live, think and act according to
the real world that surrounds them. It's funny how chess fans demand
greater altruism from top GM's while being pragmatic, sober and
responsible people themselves.”
Yermo also proposes that changing to a 3-1-0 scoring system would lead
to players throwing games in the big Swiss's, which make up the majority
of events. I still wish a brave organizer would shake up an elite
invitational with a 50-move rule (a la Maurice Ashley’s
2003
Generations Tournament) ) or a scoring system that gave 0.4 for a draw
with white and 0.6 for a draw with black
Knockouts are actually quite cool. The only problem I have is that
the clock-bangers KNOW that the blitz tie-break is coming and do nothing
but kill the play in the slow games. Solution? Forget blitz, and toss a
coin. We're all big boys now, we can handle a little bit of bad luck.
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Hangin's take:
The goal should be to encourage winning. I think the 3 point scoring
system will only encourages black to draw more. The soccer scoring system
does not fit chess well, because with chess the sides are not equal. White
with the benefit of the first move has a slight but lasting advantage. I
also don't think that one win should equal 3 draws. However I don't think
two draws should equal a win. With the soccer scoring system, I see black
from a psychological point of view, fighting for a draw harder. Soccer is
played on a level playing field, chess is not. In chess black has a
lasting disadvantage. I think changing the points for drawing a
game, where you give black .6 for a draw and give white .4 for a draw will
only encourage black to draw. Since chess is a draw when played
correctly, why give black more for drawing than white? I think the goal
should be to encourage winning. I think the game of chess is interesting
when both players try to win from the start. So the goal should be to
encourage and reward winning . Here is the scoring system that I
would like to see used in tournament play:
1.2 points for a black win
1.1 points for a white win
0.5 points for a draw.
Since black has a lasing slight disadvantage lets give black more
for winning. Since the game is a draw when played correctly, lets
give white a little bit more for winning.
As far as the removal of the blitz playoff in knockouts and
replacing it with a coin toss, this would not be very popular with chess
fans. I recall in 1983, the quarterfinal candidates match
between Robert Huebner and Vassilly Smyslov, the 7th world champion, it was
drawn after 12 games, with one win apiece. They played two more games,
which were also drawn. So they decided to spin the roulette wheel.
Each player chose the colors of their national flags -
Smyslov
red, Huebner black. Here is the spooky part, on the first spin the number
zero came up, which is the color green. The great Houdini was unable to
make contact from the great beyond. I believe the great champions of the
past, Morphy, Steinitz, Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, and Euwe intervened.
They were showing their great displeasure with how this match was being
decided. On the 2nd spin of the roulette wheel, the great champs
from the past intervened again. This time Smyslov's color came up and he
would challenge Kasparov for the right to play for the world championship
against then champion Anatoly Karpov. Smyslov was the better choice of the
two, he was a the 7th world champion. He
defeated
Mikhail Botvinnik in 1957. Smyslov went on to lose to Garry
Kasparov in the1984
final candidate match by a score of 8.5-4.5.
Robert Huebner was an excellent player,
however he withdrew from two candidate matches. The first occurring
against Petrosian in 1971, Hueber withdrew after 7 games trailing by one.
He could no longer handle the stress of the match and outside street
noise. Again in 1980 a stressed out Huebner with drew from the candidate
final match against Kortchnoi
after trailing by one after 10 games.
As far as tie breakers are concerned, most chess
fans would prefer a blitz playoff. If chess is going to use another
form of tie breaker, I don't think the coin toss will please the fans. I'd
much rather see the cow chip toss or sumo mud wrestling instead of the
coin toss. Chess is an evolving sport. I think blitz play is a
natural evolution of the game. I think chess professionals need to work on
their blitz games as they do with their opening novelties. Replacing blitz
with the coin toss will only hurt the game. If chess is to be considered a
sport, then knockouts must be decided at the board. Blitz is exciting to watch. I
think the chess world should cater more to fans. It seems to this chess
fan, that the chess world has forgotten about the fans. This is especially
true with what has happened to the world championship process. This
is very unfortunate because it is only recently that chess games in
progress can be followed by the public at large.
As far as the friendly no fight draw, I would also like to see a
return to the 50 move draw rule that
Maurice
Ashley introduced at the Legends tournament in 2003. But it is
ultimately up to the chess players to change their attitudes about the
game. No fight, friendly draws only hurt the game. If Chess is to be
considered a sport, then its integrity is the key to keeping the
public's interest. The key to big money in sports is its
entertainment value. In order for the big money to trickle down to
all the professional chess players, then the entertainment value must be
there
first.
I worked on the following formula for sponsorship.
Great Sponsorship (big
dollars) = (Players
Reliability) * (Players Ability) * (Players desire to win).
It is in the players interest to play for a win
most of the time.
A lot of interesting ideas have been suggested, but few have been
tried. We need to stop beating this dead draw horse and try to revive him.
Lets breathe some fresh air into chess and try these scoring changes and
drawing rules. But lets keep the coin toss to decide the kick offs in the
NFL. Lets keep the spins of the roulette wheel to the gamblers. Lets
decide chess knockouts by playing chess.
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