This issue
came up on Chess Fm on Friday
2/18/2004. The show was covering the Linares Tournament. Tony Rook was
hosting with IM Malcolm Pein, James Coleman, and Chris Duncan of Chesscenter.
The issue of what to do about the draw came up during the show’s
coverage. An Interesting suggestion was made that Chess should use the
same scoring system as Soccer (European Football).
3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and zero points for a loss.
Now this is an interesting concept.
However soccer is different than
chess. In soccer to determine who moves first, they toss a coin to
determine whom kicks off. In the second half the other team receives the
ball. So there is no opening advantage in soccer like there is in chess.
In soccer no team has an initial advantage. One team gets the ball first,
and then in the 2nd half the other team gets the ball.
Chess is
a different sport. The first move is an advantage. This gives white the
initiative. In top-level chess white's goal is to keep this initiative and
build small advantages and hopefully win. Now black's goal is to equalize,
in other words to dissipate white's initiative. Giving 3 points for a win
will certainly give white more incentive to win, after all white does have
the initial advantage of the first move. However this will cause black
from a psychological point to fight harder to draw, why should black, with
the disadvantage of not having the first move, take chances and go for a
win.
Chess is an exciting game when both sides go for the win. The key
here is to give black the incentive not just to equalize but to try to win.
Giving black 1.1 points for winning can accomplish this. So, white winning is 1 point, a draw for both
sides is
.5. I have heard arguments for giving black .6 points for the draw, this
will only encourage black to draw more. Since chess is a draw
when played correctly by both sides, no side should be penalized for
drawing. The draw is one of the things that keeps this great game of chess exciting.
The draw gives an opponent hope in positions where he is losing or
down material. The draw keeps the fight alive. There are many ways to draw
in chess being down a whole piece. The king with knight or bishop cannot
mate a lone king. Even in bishop of opposite color ending where one side
has pawns and the other doesn’t can be drawn. In certain positions a
player can build a barricade preventing the other side from breaking
through. A lone king can even draw being down a bishop and rook pawn in
certain endgames where the lone king can cover the queening square and
the opposing bishop cannot. The draw is good for chess. It keeps the game
alive. It keeps the fight in the game.
Now all we need to do is give black
incentive to go beyond equalization and try to win. Giving black 1.1
points for the win could do just that. Of course this is not going to fix
all the problems with the draw, after all you need two opposing players
with the will to win. Certainly there is nothing wrong with a hard fought
exciting draw.
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