Small step in right direction

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  • Small step in right direction

    https://www.chess.com/news/view/fide...ne-short-draws

  • #2
    Somewhat unrelated, but I admit to being involved in strange draws (and resignations) over the years. Draws unless by force are the most subjective aspect of chess. A few I recall include once during my many games against Bryon Nickoloff, we had a typically tense position, which I was studying, and Bryon looked up and said "Brian, I want to attend a barbecue, can we agree to a draw?". Perhaps not the strangest draw offer, but I did agree. Though it now reminds me of another game also versus Bryon at UoT and I had an unusually dominating positional bind (though nothing clearly winning as yet), and I was in the washroom washing my hands, when Bryon walked in, stood at the sink next to me, splashed water on his face and looking at one another via mirrors resigned the game...again not the strangest resignation, as stranger was against my good friend Jim Allen at a Hamilton tournament and I confidently played a flashy sacrifice that appeared winning, Jim sunk his head into his hands, then horror struck me - I realized he recaptured in the sequence with CHECK and he is winning...attempting a poker face, I slithered away from the board, and went into the washroom. A few moments later Ian Finlay came in and said "it is the blunder of the decade!", I scolded him for teasing me, then he laughed and left, next Jim Allen walks in, looking ghost white, held out his hand and resigned. It turns out he had the same illusion and had stopped the clock to resign as I left the board. Back to draw examples...on board one in the last round I caught Ray Stone in the opening and he was completely lost, he came up to me during his move and indicated he was desperate for money and would I take a draw giving him some prize money. The problem was it was the inaugural Paul Vaitonis Memorial tournament, which I wanted to win as Paul was one of my key chess mentors from the past. Stone demonstrated that I would win the trophy on tie-break, and I foolishly accepted (why didnt I just win the game and give him some money??). So many more, and of course there was the "corporation" days, a concept Illias Kourkanakis introduced whereby two players combine and share any prize money and if they meet in the event typically taking a draw (or whatever result improved corporate returns)....

    Brian

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    • #3
      I think I was involved in only two "fixed" games (both with close friends) - only one of which involved money. The first one - we had agreed before the tournament that we would draw if we were paired with each other. Eventually, we were paired. We had prepared (and memorized) a GM drawn game (about 30 moves long - so as not to appear too suspicious) . We transposed a few moves so that the identical GM game wouldn't match (this was before the age of databases, however).

      The other game - the winner would be in the money. We tossed a coin beforehand, and I was to be the "winner". The TD was playing on the next board, so when he was absent at one point, my opponent put a piece en prise intentionally, and then resigned when I took it. We split the money (might have been $25 each or so).

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      • #4
        Disgraceful.
        And any Organizer / Arbiter aware that this is happening under their nose, as it must certainly be the case in the attempted paper IM-norm, should be sanctioned as well.
        Alex F.

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        • #5
          And one looks at that list of players, who essentially handed this guy a paper-norm, and can only wonder:
          Not whether they were in on this, but to what extent were they in on this? What kind of money / benefit / favours / promises exchanged hands behind the scenes.
          One FM in a field with 5 GMs, double-round-robin.

          Ehsan Ghaem Maghami
          Richard Bitoon
          Alexander Mista
          Vladimir Georgiev
          Enrico Sevillano

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Brian Hartman View Post
            ....
            With the exception of stalemate, maybe now is the time to do away with the draw in FIDE-rated chess. The rules would have to be worked out, of course, but what I have in mind is this: 1) a draw offer triggers an armageddon game which produces a decisive result; 2) if in the arbiter's opinion no progress is being made (see Dubov vs Nepo), the arbiter triggers an armageddon game. If there is a facet of the game which is continually abused by unethical players then get rid of it.

            p.s. It just occurred to me that an unethical player who has a worse/losing position could use a draw offer to get a second chance. As I said, the rules would have to be worked out but my basic position is unchanged: get rid of the draw!
            Last edited by Peter McKillop; Monday, 22nd January, 2024, 12:35 PM.
            "We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." - Aesop
            "Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato
            "If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination." - Thomas De Quincey

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            • #7
              I have been suggesting the following (not original) solution for decades but few are convinced :). In my humble opinion, change the scoring system: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 for a loss.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Larry Bevand View Post
                I have been suggesting the following (not original) solution for decades but few are convinced :). In my humble opinion, change the scoring system: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 for a loss.
                In soccer, they have the same system, as you get 33% of the available points for a draw instead of 50% in chess.

                At the same time, in NHL draw gives you 75% of the available points on average, taking into account 50% chance of winning at overtime. Theoretically, 82 regular time draws should give you 123 points at the end of the season, which is enough not only for play-off, but also for home-court advantage for entire play-off.

                My opinion is that I don't like the system which allows different number of points for 2 sides of the match. In this case 3 points total for decisive game and just 2 points total for a draw.

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                • #9
                  I agree more with Victor, that for chess, 3 points (3-0 win) vs 2 points (1-1 draw), I feel that such a divergence is not right for the nature of the game of chess.

                  On another note, for a while now, the Grand Chess Tour (which includes Sinquefield/St.Louis) simply has no draw offers, ever, they're almost all repetitions.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Peter McKillop View Post

                    With the exception of stalemate, maybe now is the time to do away with the draw in FIDE-rated chess. The rules would have to be worked out, of course, but what I have in mind is this: 1) a draw offer triggers an armageddon game which produces a decisive result; 2) if in the arbiter's opinion no progress is being made (see Dubov vs Nepo), the arbiter triggers an armageddon game. If there is a facet of the game which is continually abused by unethical players then get rid of it.

                    p.s. It just occurred to me that an unethical player who has a worse/losing position could use a draw offer to get a second chance. As I said, the rules would have to be worked out but my basic position is unchanged: get rid of the draw!
                    An amended proposal:
                    1. No draws allowed other than by way of stalemate.
                    2. A draw offer, if accepted by the opponent, triggers an armageddon game which produces a decisive result.
                    3. If in the arbiter's opinion no progress is being made (see Dubov vs Nepo) then the arbiter can trigger an armageddon game.
                    4. Once each player has played their 70th move (I picked this number arbitrarily), and there is no forced win available (TBD by Arbiter & engine), the Arbiter triggers an armageddon game. If the engine indicates a forced win is available then the game is declared won.
                    "We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." - Aesop
                    "Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato
                    "If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination." - Thomas De Quincey

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Peter McKillop View Post

                      An amended proposal:
                      1. …
                      4. Once each player has played their 70th move (I picked this number arbitrarily), and there is no forced win available (TBD by Arbiter & engine), the Arbiter triggers an armageddon game. If the engine indicates a forced win is available then the game is declared won.
                      Oh good. No one has to learn how to mate a B+N, or any other basic mate. Just pass until you get to 70 moves. Being actually good at chess is for rubes…

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Roger Patterson View Post

                        Oh good. No one has to learn how to mate a B+N, or any other basic mate. Just pass until you get to 70 moves. Being actually good at chess is for rubes…
                        You sound like I feel - ticked off! Of course nothing will come of my suggestions because, on the whole, they're not realistic; too many worthy exceptions etc. It's probably been about 50 years since I last revered a GM but I did back in the 60s. That great group of post WW II players were my Mickey Mantles and Bobby Hulls and so on. I may not revere individual players any more but I still have a passion for the game. So to come down to a point where two "world-class" players like Dubov and Nepo decide to make a spectacle out of kicking the chess world below the belt is hard for me to bear. Maybe a more realistic solution would be a FIDE ethics committee that could impose heavy fines on players whose actions at the board bring the game into disrepute.
                        "We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." - Aesop
                        "Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato
                        "If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination." - Thomas De Quincey

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Aris Marghetis View Post
                          I agree more with Victor, that for chess, 3 points (3-0 win) vs 2 points (1-1 draw), I feel that such a divergence is not right for the nature of the game of chess.

                          On another note, for a while now, the Grand Chess Tour (which includes Sinquefield/St.Louis) simply has no draw offers, ever, they're almost all repetitions.
                          Can you explain what you mean that a divergence in game scoring is "not right for the nature of the game of chess"?


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