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Reducing the draw percentage

Posted By: Bill Calton
Date: Saturday, 8 December 2018, at 3:32 p.m.

In Response To: Reducing the draw percentage (Nack Ballard)

I say eliminating draws is the wrong goal. The idea should be to make the event exciting for the fans without compromising the fundamental nature of classical chess.

As Nack mentioned, draws are a natural part of the game. There is a relatively large drawing zone, and at the elite level it is just difficult to win. Barring blunders, one needs to unbalance or complicate the game and risk losing in order to win. Few players are willing to do this. The players prefer to obtain a small stable advantage and press for a win with no risk, which rarely works. In a match, especially a short match, the risk / reward profile just doesn't make going big for a win logical.

The world champion decided by a one on one match is a format whose time has come and gone. A one on one classical match is simply too long and too boring. My radical solution: abandon the classical world championship match format altogether. Replace it with the existing candidates tournament. Rather than have the candidates tournament determine the challenger, let the tournament declare the world champion.

A candidates tournament retains the classical chess skills and flow but has some advantages for the fans. You could have a new world champion every year. There is drama day to day as the standings change and many players may be in contention all the way to the last rounds. Winning in a tournament can jump you in the standings and provide enough reward to justify some players playing riskier and more entertaining chess. With many opponents, opening preparation is still important but not the primary factor. With many games each day, commentary can ignore the boring ones and focus on the exciting ones. Commentators can jump in and out of games, analyzing each one for short periods, keeping it fresh.

The St Louis Chess Club does this very well with their coverage of the US championship for example. They sprinkle in computer analysis, interviews and audience questions in addition to coverage of the main games. This is the model to follow.

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