I have revised the web page at
http://www.quadibloc.com/chess/ch0103.htm
to provide a simpler version of my proposed solution to the "draw problem" in Chess.

One solution to the draw problem that has been tried is to award 1/3-1/3 for a draw.
I have two difficulties with this, even though it has been tried in practice. One is that it subjects the chess player to the need of considering two conflicting objectives - achieving the game outcome that exceeds that of the opponent by the largest margin, or the one that contributes the most to the score. Presumably, the intent
is to encourage more risky play.
The other is that this really only is effective in tournaments, not matches. Draws in tournaments are mainly a problem for the organizers; too many draws, and one will have to rent the hall for a longer period before prizes can be awarded.
It's draws in matches - more specifically, draws in the World Championship match - that are a problem for Chess. Because the World Championship match is the premiere opportunity to create visibility for Chess and attract interest to it.
So, inspired by how _komidashi_ solved a similar problem for the Japanese game of Go (well, the Chinese game of Weiqi, if you want to be picky), I tried to come up with a scoring scheme for Chess that would address the draw problem.
I've now decided that something simpler than my original proposal will be enough to do the trick.

Checkmate: 100-0 for the winning player.
Stalemate: 60-40 for the player who stalemates the other player.
Bare King: 52-48 for the player who exposes the other player's king, and chooses to claim this victory rather than continuing to play for stalemate or checkmate.
Perpetual check: 51-49 *for Black only*. That is, if White places Black in perpetual check, the game result is 50-50, like any other draw; if Black places White in perpetual check, the game result is 49-51.

White has a slight advantage over Black. So White has to achieve at least Bare King to put something on the scoresheet, while Black can get on the scoresheet just through perpetual check.
Being able to get a plus score even after accumulating such relatively small advantages should be enough to make it hard even for two equally-matched and able players to wage a lengthy match of nothing but draws.

And since checkmate is worth five times as much as stalemate, and, for that matter, stalemate is worth five times as much as bare king, it should not be possible to complain that this scoring schedule is ruining chess by diminishing the importance of not
blundering a checkmate away into a mere stalemate.

John Savard

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