With Best Play for both sides Chess is a Draw--So Why Do We Play?

The "exceptions" show clearly that you're on slippery ground once you start to jump to conclusions whimsically.

Enough examples and in-depth explanation has been given to show how there is no grounds to assume chess is inherently drawn with optimal play. The naysayers have only been naysaying and employing the occasional ad-hominem pseudo-argument. Anyone should be able to draw (no pun intended) their own conclusions.

Anything that can said, can be said clearly --

@MrCollins confuses mutual zugswang with the topic of this thread.

And @Jaas needs to study the royal game much more than Freshman Symbolic Logic.

It doesn't become him.  

I assume you're referring to this game:

1. e4 - black resigns.

Well, i do not have this problem. Most of my games are won or lost. Much less end in a draw and i play as well as i can. So with my best play, it does not work :-)

becouse it is imposible to have " best play" by both players so long as they are humans.

Actually it is possible to play a game with no errors at all.  Many have done this including myself.

These are often short games where an opponent makes an early error but you have played with no errors at all.

Sometimes they are games where a draw is agreed to early.

Example  1. e4  e5  2. Nf3  agreed drawn. Both sides have played perfectly with no errors.

jaaas my statements are based on knowledge of chess and experience.

I have suggested testing out my statement that most chess games come to a point where one side or another has a winning position by move 15. This has been tested and the results were that I am right but , for sure, needs a lot more testing.

jaaas, as a little test, lets look at your last 5 completed games?

Rather than just saying I am wrong let us test my statement.

it hasn't been proved that chess is a draw

We know it has not been proved 100% that chess is a draw. That is because chess is such a complex game.  However if you poll the very best chess players those master or above they will almost all say chess is a draw with best play on both sides.

The more proficient one is in chess the more likely he/she will believe that with best play on both sides--chess is a draw.

It is just something that the evidence is 99% chess is a draw but it has not been proven 100%

Patzers prove time and time again, they cannot draw.  What of it?

No one has tried to prove chess is a draw.  @Chesshole, and many others, thoroughly misread this forum thread.

Please try to change the narrative running in your heads.  If you can.

A "winning position" takes a 1-2 pawn advantage, or fantastic chess knowledge (as in @Ponz111's former CC Championship in the U.S.)

Conflating these two ideas with the first 15 moves stikes me as an invitation to forum chaos.  No surprises there.  

How can you be sure?

The draw should be forced draws like by repetition, lack of material, stalemate, etc. Not agreed draws.

Reformulate the question -- drawing resources in chess are much greater than winning resources.

Zillions of positions with greater than a 1-2 pawn advantage cannot be won in the endgame.  So the preponderance of evidence (to date) supports the assertion that chess is more likely a draw.

Unfortunately, "perfect play" is another one of those pinheaded concepts that produces much more heat than light.  

All the rest is just internet blather.  Whatever.

Because no one can prove 100% that a chess is a draw with best play does not mean they are wrong.  I already acknowledged that it cannot be proved 100% that chess is a draw with best play.  The fact that I cannot prove this 100% does not mean I am wrong.

If anyone wants to think otherwise that is their priviledge.  It would not be good chess but they can think what they want. 

Of course we play even though many know that with best play chess is a draw. That is because of the competition and various other reasons we play.

The other statement I made that for most games there is a point in the first 15 moves where one side or another has a winning advantage--this can be tested.  So far the tests indicate I may be right.  When a couple of players challenged me I suggested we look at their last 5 finished games and they did not take up my suggestion.  

very try-hard response.  

It has not been proven that chess is a draw: fact

How many elo points would perfect play be? So play that never loses? Who can calculate this? You keep adding wins and draws to your points and go over 5000 elo? Imho even the engines are far away from perfect play, so why do we care to discuss about something that is out of reach?

The fact that something cannot be proven does not make it untrue: fact

that is true, but you are the one saying chess is a draw.  chess is probably a draw, but it hasn't been proven and there is no hard evidence that chess is a draw: fact.

There is a lot of evidence that chess is a draw.  Masters and grandmasters, the people best at playing chess have thousands of years of experience playing chess and from what they have learned from all this experience and knowledge is that it is almost certain chess is a draw with best play.

By the way, I am not the only one who says chess is a draw with best play--most any good player [good player--master or above] will say the same thing.