Draws...

And why some players offer them...

Good day dear reader. I hope you are well. I want to start a discussion about draws in Chess. Why do people offer them? Are they just going through the motions and not really caring so much about the game day to day? Do they think the position is actually drawn? Odd thing to think honestly since the players still have to prove that by playing those moves. They are no different than middlegame positions. There is a lot to play for right? At least that is how I think about it. At the highest level it is a representation of both players playing the best moves they could find at the playing of the game and it usually the natural conclusion amongst the top players in the world however, it has a different status at the club level I believe.

Recently I was at a tournament game. I will not disclose the tournament or location for anonymity sake however an interesting thing occurred. I was offered a draw before the game while we were taking our seats and settling in before shaking hands and starting the clocks. Ummmmm what? Was I just asked if I wanted a quick draw? I was surprised and taken aback a bit. Firstly why? “Aren’t we all here to play chess?” I thought to myself. Secondly if you wanted a quick draw why even come to the tournament to play? Or perhaps take a bye round if you are not feeling well. It struck me as odd thing to do before the game. Have you run into this before? My initial thought was “um no that is collusion,” in my head of course. It is a tournament setting and that is maybe not forbidden but extremely frowned upon. I am not up completely on the USCF rules but, I expect there is a statement within the rule book that talks about this very topic. If anyone knows this feel free to put that information in a comment. This encounter was not the first of its kind for me but I found it rather interesting to ruminate over and have for a while now.

Now previously in my chess career this would irritate me. It would get under my skin and bother me. Fester throughout the game until ultimately I cracked and lost the game from reeling about it. It has happened on a number of occasions previously. This past year I have been working hard at my emotional state on and off the chess board. Trying to keep a focused mind and my eye on the prize. For me this means improvement for the sake of improving and becoming better at our beloved game. In the past I would have been upset and even had disdain for such a question and responded in the same fashion. Perhaps even rudely at times. On this occasion I found it as a new opportunity to work on my mindset and emotional status. A new level to achieve perhaps. “No.” I responded, “I am here to play a game.” At this point knowing my opponent seemingly did not want to be there I took this as a new opportunity.

Challenging my opponent. I am going to extend this game and make it as lengthy and complex as possible. And I did just that. I took my time. I made the best moves I could ultimately leading to a draw offer from my opponent around move 20 or so. The position had tons of life in it and it was quite complex. Hardly a drawish position by any means. Truth be told I was down a pawn however my opponent was down 30 minutes on the clock. I found this quite interesting as well. They were up a pawn and offered a draw even. To which later expressed they were winning. Now something interesting happened here. I was not at the board when they made their move and was only offered when I returned to the board. I had been walking around checking out some other games at the time. I did not respond and I explored and evaluated the position. The position had quite a bit of life left but did have the potential to simplify down to most likely a losing endgame with proper play from both sides; however, I was not thinking about that. I was thinking about how badly the person on the other side of the table did not want to be there. I was focused and centered not only on the position and its challenges that lie within but, also on how badly my opponent wanted to be done with the game. They did not want this game to continue. They wanted to leave. So it was here I decided to take a chance.

Now at the time of the game and with all its life I made my move intending to lengthen the game as best I could. Not pushing. Not pressing anything. Allowing them to make moves and try to force things. I did think I might be able to win the pawn back and bring back material equality. It was going to be challenging, perhaps it could have been possible. One other thing I noticed other than them wanting to leave and be out of the game as quickly as humanly possible, was them taking a considerable amount of time over calculating every move. Recognizing this I adopted a new strategy. Not even chess related. Well sort of. I would make my move and get up from the board and leave them in their own thoughts. I would watch from afar as to not distract them in any way. I did not want to dislodge them from spending time calculating whatever it was they had been. How does the saying go? “If your opponent is going to do something wrong. Let them.” I am sure I have that wrong and please correct me if needed, I think you understand my point though. They were going to use and crunch the clock wasting what was left of it. I will let them. My assumption was correct. I stayed up on the clock for more than 30 minutes for the remainder of the game. From the time of draw offer to the end of the game they spent 48 minutes to make less than 10 moves ultimately losing on time allowing me to pick up the win for the round.

Now for some people flagging is not a gentlemanly thing to do. Especially in a classically rated game. To that I highly disagree with. Both players have the same amount of time on their clocks and clock management is part of the game. What is it for some players about draws? I personally will not take a draw unless the circumstances are absolutely necessary for me to do so. In this instance I thought perhaps the position still had life in it and there was still a lot to play for. Multiple results. At the end of the day none of us are Magnus or Stockfish and we have to prove our ideas at the table. I expected I could get my pawn back and still play for a win. I evaluated the position as maybe a slight advantage to black but certainly not winning by any means. Come to find out later I was incorrect here and it was losing for white. In poker they say “That is what betting is for.”

How do you feel about draws? How do handle them? I want to play. I am there to improve. I want to play the game out to conclusion. If not for anything other than the learning experience. For me it is about gaining more insights into the game. For others I expect it is more about fun and enjoyment. What do you think?