First Move Advantage in Chess

Belated pop star Michael Jackson coined the immortal words "It doesn't mater if you are black or white". The world is certainly rallying to make this true in everyday life, but is it true for a game of chess? Many chess players have at one point questioned whether moving first is an advantage. This article attempts to put this question to rest.

Introduction

Chess has been played for more than 1500 years. Although the piece names, colors and moves have changed, the fact that somebody must move first has always remained constant. A game of chess between well versed players relies solely on skill, and skill alone. With the element of luck removed, it would seem plausible that the player who moves first would have significant advantage. Gratefully, that is not always the case.

Statistics

Statistically, white does win more often than black. The advantage is very small though. Reviews of chess games played at tournaments and online chess sites show that white has an approximate 2% advantage over black. Many argue that this variation is so small that it could be attributed to other factors. The psychology of moving second for example may tempt a player to begin on a defensive footing. This alone could attribute to the variation.

Most statistics have borrowed from games played at the elite level. Anecdotally, it appears that first-move advantage reduces as the experience of the player reduces. The white advantage of those who play casually appears to be minuscule.

Furthermore, most players do not worry about the first-move advantage as statistically a player will play both black and white an equal number of times. A player's win/lose ratio will reflect this fact.

Black Advocates

There have been many protesters denying the existence of first-move advantage. Most notably is Adreas Adorhan. Andreas is a Grandmaster of Chess who has written several books on first-move advantage. His famous work "Black is OK!" proposes aggressive opening ideas for black in an attempt to eradicate first-move advantage. An excerpt of his latest edition "Black is OK forever!" can be found at Google Books.

Conclusion

It does certainly appear that white has a slight advantage over black. The advantage is so small, however, that it could be easily attributed to psychology alone. Unless you are an expert player, first-move advantage can generally be ignored.

Further Reading

Wikipedia. First Move Advantage in Chess.

Adorjan, Andras (2005). Black is OK Forever!, Batford.