Please please offer the doubling cube as an option!

I'm playing several players for years.  

If both players agree, please offer a doubling cube option and a score based just on that.

It would add a fantastic and exclusive aspect to the game and Chess.com

Imagine you play a guy hundreds of games.

Game #721, you get 3 pawns ahead, no weakness in your position.

You could double him and have a "Doubling Cube Score" 

The use of the doubling cube is one of the most fascinating aspects of real-life predictions.

For instance, it is not a good idea to offer the cube if you only have a 51% chance of winning.

Do you know why?  

This is chess, not backgammon. The doubling cube works in backgammon because of dice rolling. Chess has no such randomness.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backgammon#Doubling_cube

@2Q1C Basically, you can challenge the opponent to either accept a doubling of the score, or if he does not want that, he has to resign. (Before anyone has doubled, any of the players can double, but after one player has doubled, he cannot double again until his opponent has doubled.)

(Personally, I have played not only Backgammon but games of OTB chess like this, and think it's a lot of fun. )

Well, only if he takes the cube and who the f... would take the cube when down 3 pawns ?! Adding a cube to chess is just as meaningless as playing backgammon without one.  

It also doesn't make sense to add or subtract extra rating points. Rating points aren't for show. The formula is purposeful mathematics used to rank players based on past performance.

Keeping in mind what The Chin Of Quinn just said,  the only way a doubling cube would work is if people are playing for real money.  Personally I don't find that idea appealing but let's assume a large enough percentage of members did.  Obviously Chess.com would not (and should not) sanction it.  Perhaps you could start your own website because this idea is DOA here.

I think it would make an interesting variant.

I think this can go pretty well. We can add "money chess" where we can use virtual currency to bet, doubling cube, and so on.

Yeah... and chess.com could probably make some money by functioning as a virtual casino.

What the hay?

"Well, only if he takes the cube and who the f... would take the cube when down 3 pawns ?!"

It would be unwise to offer a doubling cube if you were only up one pawn.  

The reason is that when you lose control of the cube, the other guy has the option of offering it back if he gets ahead.  

Of course, if one is down 6 pawns, without a position to offset the disadvantage, why not give up and start a new game fresh?  You learn more from equal positions than having a superior player chase your king across the board and back. 

1.  I'm only suggesting it for two players who BOTH want to use it.

2.  It's a way to shorten the time on a game, instead of playing to the bitter end.  

A game which has 3 or 14 days per move can go for months longer than necessary.  

I suspect some players are hoping I'll die of old age (or boredom), thus they take the full day count. 

2b.  It would give a player an "excuse" to give up when he should, rather than hanging on to the bitter end.  

3.  It would not affect your ratings, it would be for "game points", you versus that player only.  

It would also make for more in-depth tournaments (for those who agree). 

For instance, if you are playing best 7 out of 13 games per match, then the doubling cube can make for more interesting matches for those who agree.

Remember, it's only for two people who agree.

Right now, two people who agree can't even try it.  

"Keeping in mind what The Chin Of Quinn just said, the only way a doubling cube would work is if people are playing for real money."

That's not true of backgammon.

I don't play chess for money, yet I care whether I win or not, and against my frequent players, I check my win / loss ratio frequently.   

The truth is, the doubling cube is a very educational tool for learning how to judge probabilities and risk.  It's one of the few things I think that backgammon has over chess *for me*.  

There's a book on judging whether or not to offer, whether or not to accept, given the positions. 

Again, you need more than just a 51% chance of winning to justify offering the cube.  In other words, if the other guy *only* has a 52% chance of winning, you should accept the double most of the time.   Of course, a different variable, a different variable is where you are in the game count.  Example, if you're ahead 5 to zero games, obviously you don't offer the cube.  In chess, however, you might if you are ahead in material and pieces, but be doubly careful.  If he turns the tables and gets, let's say, your queen, then he'd double you back and you could be in for a ride.

Bottom line, there's more to it, just as playing poker isn't about just luck as some would claim.   It's about chip management.  The doubling cube, I suggest, is chip management plus so much more.

You'll never know until you try. 

(I'm not a backgammon player, but I suddenly recall, I think, there's a rule preventing the offer of the cube if the other player is two or one game from winning the match... something like that. 

While I play and know the rules to backgammon, I don't do it in tournaments, but if someone offers a double when they're one or two men away from bearing off, the opponent would just refuse the double and end the game right there.

Edit: I should learn to read.  :/

That doubling cube sounds interesting for backgammon, but why should we have it in chess ?

Probabilities and risk aren't that important in chess..unless one is playing hope chess, of course.

It makes sense in chess for a head-to-head match where you are going to play multiple games against the same opponent and it's the first to a particular score. You could offer the cube and if accepted it's double the stakes.

Not sure how it would work
1. If the game finished drawn

2. Round-robin tournaments - would be unfair on the other players if our game is worth a lot more than normal.

3. Team matches. Might be ok but not sure. Could limit the game to 4 (one double each).