In an earlier post (https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2018/08/03/winning/) I posited improving Chess by devaluing the draw to 1/4 point for each player. Lowering the value of a draw would obviously increase the value of a win. Winning is the point of any game, is it not?
The recently completed US Masters in Greensboro, North Carolina, using the traditional one point for a win and one half point for a draw, ended with four main score groups:
6 1/2
GM JOHN MICHAEL BURKE
GM JEFFERY XIONG
GM EVGENY POSTNY
IM DJURABEK KHAMRAKULOV
GM YURI GONZALEZ VIDAL
GM SERGEY ERENBURG
GM TIMUR GAREYEV
GM HOVHANNES GABUZYAN
6
GM ALONSO ZAPATA
GM SERGEI AZAROV
GM SAMUEL SEVIAN
GM NICLAS HUSCHENBETH
GM VLADIMIR BELOUS
GM ALEKSANDR LENDERMAN
IM MICHAEL W BROWN
GM MAGESH CHANDRAN PANCHANATHAN
5 1/2
IM JUSTIN J SARKAR
GM KAMIL DRAGUN
IM GUILLERMO VAZQUEZ
GM JULIO C SADORRA
GM CARLOS ANTONIO HEVIA ALEJANO
5
FM JUSTIN WANG
GM ALEXANDER SHABALOV
FM ANDREW ZHANG HONG
IM KEVIN WANG
IM ERIK SANTARIUS
GM JOEL BENJAMIN
FM HANS NIEMANN
IM ADVAIT PATEL
GM DMITRY GUREVICH
GM ELSHAN MORADIABADI
GM JULIO J BECERRA
FM BRANDON JACOBSON
IM FARAI MANDIZHA
IM MICHAEL LEE
GM ISAN ORTIZ SUAREZ
GM ANDREY STUKOPIN
GM MICHAEL A ROHDE
GM BRYAN G SMITH
If the tournament had ended with exactly the same individual game results the outcome would have been entirely different. Before you leave comments and/or send emails, please consider I am aware altering the distribution of points would, most probably, have ensured many of the results would have been much different because players would be FORCED to alter the way they play. There would have been more fighting Chess since a win would be worth much more than the method currently in use. How many players would opt for any bye in any round? How many would take a 1/4 point bye in the final round?
This is how the tournament would have ended using the new method of 1/4 point for a draw:
GM TIMUR GAREYEV 6 1/4
IM MICHAEL W BROWN 6
GM JOHN MICHAEL BURKE 5 3/4
GM JEFFERY XIONG
GM HOVHANNES GABUZYAN
GM ALONSO ZAPATA 5 1/2
GM SERGEI AZAROV
GM MAGESH CHANDRAN PANCHANATHAN
GM EVGENY POSTNY 5 1/4
IM DJURABEK KHAMRAKULOV
GM YURI GONZALEZ VIDAL
GM SERGEY ERENBURG
IM JUSTIN J SARKAR (Includes last round 1/4 bye)
GM KAMIL DRAGUN
GM SAMUEL SEVIAN 5
GM NICLAS HUSCHENBETH
FM BRANDON JACOBSON
IM FARAI MANDIZHA
IM GUILLERMO VAZQUEZ 4 3/4
GM JULIO C SADORRA
GM CARLOS ANTONIO HEVIA ALEJANO
GM ALEKSANDR LENDERMAN 4 1/2
GM ALEXANDER SHABALOV
FM ANDREW ZHANG HONG
IM MICHAEL LEE
IM ATULYA ARYA SHETTY 4 1/4
IM SHIYAM THAVANDIRAN
IM ERIK SANTARIUS 4
GM JOEL BENJAMIN
FM HANS NIEMANN
IM ADVAIT PATEL
GM DMITRY GUREVICH
GM ISAN ORTIZ SUAREZ
GM ANDREY STUKOPIN
GM MICHAEL A ROHDE
GM BRYAN G SMITH
You can find the final standings, along with the prize money won, at (http://chessstream.com/US-Masters-and-North-Carolina-Open/table.aspx#198/USMASTERS/result-round9.html)
It is more than a little obvious devaluing the draw would put a premium on WINNING! Players would no longer be willing to “settle” for a draw. Players would be forced to stop playing for a draw and stop considering splitting the point, which is the point. Who knows, maybe players would become more like Victor Korchnoi and play slightly “dubious” opening moves intentionally in hopes of creating problems for the opponent right from the beginning of the game. Maybe an opening like the King’s Gambit would make a return.
This departure from what has become ‘normal’ would infuse the staid game of Chess with new enthusiasm. Gone would be the short draws that have become all too common. “Buddy-buddy” draws and group hugs would become a thing of the past, which is where they belong.
Here are a few selected games “played” at the 2018 US Masters, which can be found at (http://chessstream.com/US-Masters-and-North-Carolina-Open/Games.aspx).
FM LEVY ROZMAN (2421) vs AUSTEN J GREEN (2066)
round 1
1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 4. c3 Bg7 5. h4 d6 6. Nh3 Nc6 7. Qb3 e5 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Ng5 Qe7 10. Be3 Nd8 11. Na3 h6 12. Nf3 Ng4 13. Nc2 Be6 14. Qa4 Bd7 15. Qc4 Be6 16. Qa4 Bd7 17. Qc4 1/2-1/2
IM VISHNUVARDHAN ARJUN (2224) vs GM ELSHAN MORADIABADI (2540)
round 1
1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Ne5 Nc6 5. d4 e6 6. Bb5 Qc7 7. Bf4 Bd6 8. Qg4 g6 9. Qg3 Qa5 10. Nc3 Bxe5 11. Bxe5 f6 12. Bc7 Qb4 13. O-O-O Bd7 14. Rhe1 Kf7 15. Bd6 Qa5 16. Bc7 Qb4 17. Bd6 Qa5 18. Bc7 1/2-1/2
IM ADVAIT PATEL (2475) vs GM ALEKSANDR LENDERMAN (2625)
round 2
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. c4 Nc6 6. Nc3 Nxc3 7. dxc3 g6 8. Bg5 Be7 9. Bh6 Bf8 10. Bg5 Be7 11. Bh6 Bf8 12. Bg5 1/2-1/2
GM SERGEY ERENBURG (2564) vs IM DJURABEK KHAMRAKULOV (2489)
round 7
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. O-O Ng6 7. Ne1 h5 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Nxd3 Nd7 10. Nd2 1/2-1/2
GM YURI GONZALEZ VIDAL (2559) vs IM KEVIN WANG (2414)
round 7
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. O-O Ng6 7. Be3 Nd7 8. Nbd2 f6 9. c4 fxe5 10. dxe5 Ndxe5 11. Nd4 Bb4 12. g4 c5 13. Qa4 Qd7 14. Qxd7 Kxd7 15. Nxf5 exf5 16. gxf5 Bxd2 17. Bxd2 Nh4 18. Bf4 Rae8 1/2-1/2
GM SERGEY ERENBURG (2564) vs GM JEFFERY XIONG (2650)
round 9
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nf3 Qc7 8. a4 Be6 9. Be2 h6 10. O-O Qc6 11. Ne1 Nbd7 12. Nd3 a5 13. f4 Nxe4 14. Nxe4 Qxe4 15. Qd2 Qh7 16. Qc3 Qe4 17. Qd2 Qh7 18. Qc3 Qe4 1/2-1/2
WE HAVE A LOSER!!!
GM HOVHANNES GABUZYAN (2556) vs GM EVGENY POSTNY (2586)
round 9
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. O-O e6 5. d4 Nf6 6. Nbd2 1/2-1/2
A total of ELEVEN moves were “played” in this game by both players. Under the format used in this tournament it is a pity these “players” were unable to “call it in.” The time used to “play” this “game” could have been spent much more productively in the bar. THIS IS NOT CHESS! This so-called “game” is one of the main reasons Chess has never become popular in America. Most of the world wants a winner, not a drawer!
Armchair Warrior 