Time Keeping And Draws In Chess - Part One

It is something of a pet hate of mine that the draw in chess can play such a negative role on the game. It is not that I object to making a draw or that I feel draws cannot be both honorable and interesting, far from it, often draws can be beautiful, majestic and anyway sometimes they are even unavoidable. Where I feel they can be negative and indeed intrusive is when they are overused or abused as a crutch or a tool to either be lazy or disruptive of the natural flow.

Who hasn’t seen the vast amount of silly games played at the higher levels in which no effort is made to even play a game and at least engage in a fight with an opponent? Then there are the prearranged draws, even between top international teams! These should of course be seen as blight on the game but ultimately I guess not of such frequency to warrant undue alarm or concern, which is not the same as welcoming or encouraging them.

So called “grandmaster draws” aside, the vast majority of draws come about from the natural flow of a game, or if and when the two players are somehow so nervous or afraid/weary of each other that they decide to make peace early on.

In the context of Ireland it is probably fair to say that I think when it comes to draws I am a little bit of an oddity among our best players. Mainly in that it would be rare indeed, among the very best players we have, for any of them to sit down to play me without knowing full well that they had a major fight on their hands. Add this to my unconventional style and uncompromising attitude and you can get a sense of what is involved.

This has sometimes been a reason behind some players, at times, feeling that I am an unpleasant opponent to play against. In the literal sense this must be true, and I take this more as a compliment than anything else. It is true to say that I generally exude a sort of self confidence, ambition, and energy, or what some might even call arrogance during a game.

How this affects my opponents, if at all, is a bit of a mystery to me as I just get on with the chess and usually get lost in the problems on the chess board. Anyway, I suspect that as my chess prowess and sharpness diminishes with each passing year and I become even more erratic or unpredictable, than has thus far already been part of my chess playing signature, any fear or discomfort playing me becomes less and less of an element when facing me across the sixty fours squares.

Also, while there are of course exceptions that have seen me not even disguise my indifference to making a draw, these are rare and more often than not would feature me gaining some tactical advantage within the tournament, or perhaps some other gain that may not be readily apparent.

I have often marvelled at the incredible statistical frequency of draws between our very best top players. Often it seemed to me, with little by way of a real effort or struggle on their part. It is as if they have too much “respect” for each other? In truth, such notions as “respect” for an opponent are, for the most part, utterly bogus and irrelevant during a game.

In the end of the day, all that actually matters is the moves you play during a game. If they are good ones, and you know what you are doing then you will do well, if not, you wont!

My own games generally tend to be tough and long drawn out affairs in which tension mounts and my determination and will to win sometimes get the better of objectivity and judgment. All of this being par for the course, when you consider how optimistic and emotional of a player I am for much of the time. In the really rare and dramatic cases this lack of objectivity or surplus of subjectivity is very extreme and meets with extreme punishment, the type of which many lesser players would not even be capable of inflicting upon themselves.

Still for all that, the wins and success amazingly usually far outweighs the folly of such misadventures. Though it could be argued that ultimately these bouts of subjectivity and misadventure have held me back overall in terms of results? Well be that as it may, I am not going to change my ways too much now in the twilight of my chess playing days.

Anyway it also provides some hilarious stories and comical reversals. Plus it s often said that tragedy and the inherent drama is more interesting than the virtues of caution and consistency.

So what more can be said of draws in chess? I can mention some recent experience which got me thinking about the more negative and disruptive aspects of them. In particular people offering draws when they should not! Worse still people trying to claim draws at the first chance of the position being equal after a long period of having been worse for them.