Play Chess, Draw Less!

"Chess is a war over the board. The objective is to crush the opponent's mind." ~Bobby Fischer.

If Fischer were to play against Magnus or Hikaru, and the latter were to play a Bongcloud 1.e4, 1...e5, 2.Ke2?, then Fischer would probably quizzically glance at them before proceeding to defeat them.

Any chess player will understand what I mean by 'excess peace' in chess.

After you reach a certain level you will begin to simply draw games on purpose with your opponent. It's ridiculous! The infamous Berlin draw is definitely one of the openings that chess players that aren't Grandmasters aren't too fond of. Brilliant games arise from a fight between two talented players, but unfortunately tournament politics comes into play: 

The players simply don't need another point as their position in the tournament as first is fixed, or perhaps the draw is forced thanks to a Berlin defense, or maybe they just don't want to have a long drawn battle! They don't owe anything to us, but at the same time they deprive themselves and the chess world of beautiful games. If Morphy had just decided to call it quits with Duke Carl and Count Isouard? We would have no Opera Game!

Take Hikaru and Magnus for example. The Bongcloud draw they played definitely gave us some laughs and yes, both players seemed to be content with a draw (having played some real battles in the Carlsen Invitational). 

Tania Sachdev perfectly described this game: 'After all the battles in this tournament, this one is just a joke." whilst laughing alongside Peter Leko. Here's the clip of them playing (Hikaru immediately bursts out laughing!) Certainly wholesome  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVCst6vyV80 

Anyway, this of course is perfectly fine. They had had a series of battles in the tournament and deserved a peaceful and hilarious draw, and then some well deserved R & R. But what about other grandmasters and their infamous Berlin defense?  

The Berlin Defence, also called the Berlin Wall, is a chess opening that begins with the moves: e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 Bb5 Nf6 The opening is a variation of the Ruy Lopez and is assigned codes C65-C67 in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings.

The Berlin Defense: The Bane of Chess. (in my expert opinion)

Theory Note: The Berlin Defense is certainly a viable drawing option and a strategical drawing tool. Vladimir Kramnik used it to win his World Championship match against the reigning champion, Garry Kasparov. He was able to use it to draw Black games and when he was to play as White all he would need to do is win a couple of games. Poor Kasparov! He had to deal with the Berlin defense on the very first game, which was drawn (of course). The third game and the fifth game too, were drawn (although the former was quite a struggle).

A total of twenty five games were played, and Kramnik won five games whereas Kasparov won four. The rest were drawn.

Even in the 2018 World Championship when Carlsen played against Caruana, all games were drawn until finally they entered the blitz head-to-head, and the reigning champion was victorious.

I believe a major reason for so many draws in chess at the higher levels is because the players are simply so good! They can parry each other's threats again and again and again and simply fight until they realize they are at an impasse. 

Of course, this isn't always the case. In fact, it's probably less common than a decisive result! Grandmasters do often overpower each other and their intellectual prowess is quite enough to translate an advantage into a win. Simply put, I believe that draws should perhaps be restricted: 

1. In any chess game, a draw cannot be offered before 30 moves. Doing so will count as an illegal move.

2. A repetition in the opening (before 15 moves) will not be counted as a draw unless it is completely and absolutely forced, i.e. either no other move is possible or a move other than a repeating move will result in a weakening of one's position/lowering on the engine scale. This makes the game of chess more human. I highly doubt that grandmasters will repeat the same moves over 20 times or so just to cross the 30 move mark and then draw, but if they do, I truly believe that draws are sapping the life out of chess.

3. If an endgame position that is similar to the one that is reached below and is reached before 40 moves, a player wishing to offer a draw on the basis that the game is theoretically drawn should offer a draw by pressing the clock thrice, asking the opponent for an 'theory draw'. An arbiter will first check the position and either validate or invalidate the 'theory draw' offer. If invalidated, the game will continue until the 30 move mark is reached and then a normal offer may be extended

I also think that a draw-less chess variant could prove to be fun and that stalemates are counted as wins (this does degrade endgame theory, but it is meant to be only a variant - I love endgames!) A particularly articulate chess.com user made a guide on how to make your own 'no-draw' variant.

I find it quite interesting. In fact, chess.com made an April Fools news article that the rules of chess had been changed and draws were removed!

For more than 150 years, the rules of chess have served their purpose well, but today, top-level classical tournaments and matches have been increasingly dominated by draws, leaving viewers frustrated and feeling cheated of excitement. This problem culminated in the 2018 World Chess Championship between GMs Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Carauana, where all 12 classical games were drawn. ~Chess.com's April Fools Article

The one part of the article that was completely true!

In conclusion, there is hardly peace in war. The offering of draws should be curtailed and the players should play on! This also motivates them to play to the best of their ability. 

I hope you enjoyed this article!