Check out Grant Acedrex, our featured variant for April, 2024.

Enter Your Reply

The Comment You're Replying To
Robert Shimmin wrote on Fri, Mar 7, 2003 10:41 PM UTC:
In chess, the traditional 'odds' system has a couple of difficulties in
being made into a systematic method for handicapping.  In its original
context (usually, chess clubs where games were played for money) it made
sense, but in modern times, there is the problem that two beginners can
play at rook odds, and the weaker side will still occasionally win, but if
grandmasters played at rook odds, the weaker side could not possibly win. 
Ralph Betza has written on this extensively.

Also, there is the issue (which I think is the source of what I mentioned
above) that in an odds game, the side with more materiel may adopt the
strategy of attempting at every turn to simplify the game into a winning
endgame.  Of course, this is what chessplayers do ordinarily once they
have established an advantage in materiel, but in odds games, it adds a
late middlegame flavor to even the opening, and fundamentally changes the
game.

Shogi does not have this problem, because when odds are given in shogi,
the stronger player starts without one or more pieces (not in the other
player's hand; just eliminated utterly from the game), but if side with
materiel advantage attempts to capitalize on this by offering exchanges,
it actually complicates the game, because now both sides have pieces in
hand, and a piece in hand is more valuable to the better player than the
weaker one, so this strategy is counterproductive.

Edit Form
Conduct Guidelines
This is a Chess variants website, not a general forum.
Please limit your comments to Chess variants or the operation of this site.
Keep this website a safe space for Chess variant hobbyists of all stripes.
Because we want people to feel comfortable here no matter what their political or religious beliefs might be, we ask you to avoid discussing politics, religion, or other controversial subjects here. No matter how passionately you feel about any of these subjects, just take it someplace else.
Quick Markdown Guide

By default, new comments may be entered as Markdown, simple markup syntax designed to be readable and not look like markup. Comments stored as Markdown will be converted to HTML by Parsedown before displaying them. This follows the Github Flavored Markdown Spec with support for Markdown Extra. For a good overview of Markdown in general, check out the Markdown Guide. Here is a quick comparison of some commonly used Markdown with the rendered result:

Top level header: <H1>

Block quote

Second paragraph in block quote

First Paragraph of response. Italics, bold, and bold italics.

Second Paragraph after blank line. Here is some HTML code mixed in with the Markdown, and here is the same <U>HTML code</U> enclosed by backticks.

Secondary Header: <H2>

  • Unordered list item
  • Second unordered list item
  • New unordered list
    • Nested list item

Third Level header <H3>

  1. An ordered list item.
  2. A second ordered list item with the same number.
  3. A third ordered list item.
Here is some preformatted text.
  This line begins with some indentation.
    This begins with even more indentation.
And this line has no indentation.

Alt text for a graphic image

A definition list
A list of terms, each with one or more definitions following it.
An HTML construct using the tags <DL>, <DT> and <DD>.
A term
Its definition after a colon.
A second definition.
A third definition.
Another term following a blank line
The definition of that term.