Can I make another offer instead of a draw?

[Chris Rice]

OK so here’s the scenario:

The round started at 10am and is due to finish at 2pm. But we’re playing on increment so we could be going on past that time. Next round due to start at 3pm. You’re playing a slightly stronger opponent. The game hasn’t gone well. You’re in an endgame. You’re not lost yet, in fact it could be drawn but a draw is the dream. Your opponent can happily play with a draw in hand.

It’s now gone past 2pm, but your game is still going on. Crowds of players who have finished their games and are busy munching through their sandwiches surround your board. Time is not an issue for either player but the defence is torture, what can you do? Your opponent seems to be doing nothing, perhaps he’s not sure how to win it, maybe it’s not even won? Perhaps you should offer a draw? At 2.45pm you do so. Your opponent barely acknowledges your draw offer, if anything he looks irritated at your audacity and continues to play on and on but can’t seem to find the win, if it exists at all.

It’s now gone 3pm, the next round should have already started but the pairings can’t be done until this game is finished. The officials start looking anxious and are being peppered with questions as to when the next round will start. Spectators are also beginning to get bored now. Will this game ever end? They start chatting and generally getting noisy only to be repeatedly shooshed by the arbiter. Don’t they realise a game is going on?
Eventually a few minutes to 4pm the game ends either by:

a. Your opponent failing to find the win and agreeing to the draw; or
b. You blunder horribly and have to resign.

Now let’s go back to 2.45pm and look at that draw offer again. Why did your opponent turn it down so quickly? The reason is pretty obvious. You weren’t offering him anything that he hadn’t already got. He’s not going to lose so he’s got nothing to lose by playing on except to perhaps make your life easier. Why should he do that when there might be a possibility of a win?

But let’s suppose instead of offering a draw you instead said “can I offer you a ¾ point win”? The idea being that its not 1-0 or ½-½ it’s ¾-¼. Your opponent now has something to lose. He could play on for ages and end up in a draw anyway only gaining a ½ point rather than the ¾ point that’s on offer right now. In your case you may be thinking I’m sure I’m going to lose at some point though I can’t see how he’s going to do it right away and maybe a ¼ point is better than 0. If this offer was accepted the game could be rated on a 75-25 split.

Just an idea which doesn’t change the nature of the game but provides an extra tool to the scoring system? Besides games possibly finishing earlier, another advantage could be that tie break systems may not have to be deployed.

[Clive Blackburn]

Not sure what the implications would be for the grading process.... how would you deal with a result of ¾-¼ ?

[MartinCarpenter]

Amusing idea but I don't think we really want to give people quite that tempting a cop out

If the pain of defending for ages is too bad just resign and have done with it!
(It'll be basically trivial to grade in ECF systems at least +25/-25 iso +50/-50.).

[IM Jack Rudd]

Yes, any result where the scores add up to 1 is easy enough to grade in ECF or FIDE.

[Brian Valentine]

What if he counters by offering you .8/.2. How complicated would the auction rules be and in whose time?

[David Robertson]

LOL

[Angus French]

Interesting idea, Chris.

What if he counters by offering you .8/.2. How complicated would the auction rules be and in whose time?

In answer to Brian's questions, why not stop at .75/.25? Presumably the offer would be made just as a draw offer is currently made.

[Jon Mahony]

Can't see it catching on

[Geoff Chandler]

If the player refuses the draw then his clock is fixed so it does on not increment.
If he thinks he can win it then let him do it in the time he has left.

(This increment thing is stupid. Play to fixed rules with a fixed time control and stop catering for
the weaklings who cannot handle their time better. You are turning chess into a nanny sport.)

[Geoff Chandler]

......How do you log out of this place?

I've clicked on everything that looks clickable and I'm still here.

Anybody?

[Geoff Chandler]

Found it - It's under my name of all places.

A log out button would have been nice. (same as a diagram but smaller.)

Not farting about with the original layout would have been even nicer.

Bye.

[JustinHorton]

I'm pretty sure I read the same proposal in either CHESS or the BCM (probably the former) about forty years ago.

[John McKenna]

What if he counters by offering you .8/.2. How complicated would the auction rules be and in whose time?

No need for an 'auction', just score the result as follows -

0.5 - 0.5 a draw with equal material or any stalemate,
0.6 - 0.4 any draw with one side having an extra pawn,
0.7 - 0.3 any draw 2 pawns up or with R + minor piece v. R,
0.8 - 0.2 any draw 3 pawns or a minor piece up,
0.9 - 0.1 a draw with K + 2 N's v. K, or K + Q v. K + R,
1.0 - 0.0 a win by mate or resignation.

Then people might be willing to offer & agree (such modified) draws more readily, instead of playing on and on.

(I see the prodigal made a brief return - eventually finding the door he let himself out, again.)