NICK BARNETT CHESS

BECAUSE of the endless draws in the last World Championship, the use of the Armageddon has been discussed as an appropriate method of moving the tournament along, even though it has never been used at that level

An Armageddon in chess is ‘a game guaranteed to produce a decisive result, because Black has draw odds (that is, for Black, a draw is equal to a victory). To compensate, White has more time on the clock. Common times are six minutes for White and five for Black, or five minutes for White and four for Black. This can also be played with a small increment. This is also known as “time odds” and it is used in various tie breaks for quick tournaments.’ – Wikipedia

Armageddon Rules

The players first draw lots to determine which color they would like to be.

The player with the white pieces is given five minutes on the clock. Meanwhile, the player taking the black pieces features a reduced amount of time – usually four minutes. However, the player with Black has the advantage of winning the game (and thus the match or tournament) if they can hold White to a draw. Variations change the exact amount of time given to each player (six minutes vs. five minutes is a common change), as well as whether or not a delay or increment will be used. For instance, in this World Chess Championship, an Armageddon playoff would have seen White have five minutes vs. four minutes for Black, with a three-second increment that kicked in only after 60 moves had been played.

There are some rather drastic downsides to the Armageddon format. Players often feel that giving Black draw odds is simply too much of an advantage, and ending major tournaments in a game played in just a few minutes can feel wrong.

One alternative that has been used in some tournaments – including editions of the US Chess Championships, and the recent Extreme Chess Championships – is a system of continuing to play games until someone manages to win. In these events, an initial game is played at a certain time control: as an example, let’s say Game/30 with a five-second increment. After choosing for colors, the game is played. If either player wins, the match is over.

In the case of a draw, the players immediately switch colors and play a new game, but this game isn’t played at the same time control; instead, the players much play with the amount of time remaining on their clocks, whether that’s 29 minutes or ten seconds. This process continues (including playing more games and reversing colors) until someone wins a game.

Perhaps Armageddon may solve the Drawing problem?! For comment or news please write to thechessnik@ gmail.com

White to move and mate in 2