Page 2 of 4 … The End of the Draw Offer? (Maurice Ashley)

When I put in a phone call to Tom Brownscombe at the USCF he read me rule 14.b.6 out of the USCF rulebook which states: "It is unethical and unsporting to agree to a draw before a serious contest has begun." Frankly, I didn't even know this rule existed, but the way it is worded means it has no bite whatsoever. On top of that, it doesn't address an even more fundamental question: why are we allowed to offer a draw in chess? At what point did this become allowed? Tom did not know the answer to this question, but referred me to USCF President and chess historian John McCrary. When I asked him, he was instantly able to tell me the origin of the fifty-move rule and the three move repetition, but could not think of where the draw offer had originated. He promised to look into it, and it wasn't long before I received this e-mail:

Maurice,

Your question turned into quite a research topic! I could find nothing in my standard sources, so I did some quick original research in my old books, and found the following: In Medieval chess (Shatranj) the draw was recognized, but apparently only in simplified endgames in which it was clearly impossible for either side to force a win. There is no apparent reference to draws earlier than the late stages of the endgame in Shatranj literature. Even until the 18th century, there seems to have been no draws by agreement other than in very simplified endgames. In the Oxford Encyclopedia of Chess Games, the earliest draw of any kind was a perpetual check in 1750, although that book has recorded games all the way back to the 1400's. Staunton's Handbook (1848) refers to draws by agreement only if the forces are greatly simplified, such as K+Q vs K+Q. The earliest reference to draw by agreement I could find was in the American Chess Code of 1897, which allowed draw by agreement at any time.

Certainly a draw can be a natural result of a well-played game. Few would complain when two players slug it out, throwing caution to the wind only for the fireworks to fizzle to a lifeless position (check out Tate-Ashley, New York 1993 for an extreme example of this). But the draw offer, especially one that is made after ten or twelve perfunctory moves, seems just bizarre. Imagine a basketball game being played for a few minutes before both sides decide to stop and call it a day. "You know, we had long flight in, our players played last night and are a little tired. Would you like a draw so that we can all go out and have a beer?"  Not only does that sound completely ridiculous, in some places the fans might start a riot! Even sports where ties are allowed (soccer, hockey, and, surprisingly, American Football) attempts are made to avoid this somewhat unsatisfying result. Most other sports resolve the problem in a clear way: basketball can go into three or four overtimes, baseball has extra innings, tennis has the tie-break, and golf has some kind of playoff. Of course, chess is different since a drawn result is sometimes unavoidable. If only two kings are left on the board, adding a few extra minutes won't make difference. It would be pointless to play out many rook endings as well as many bishop of opposite color endings. Draws are a natural part of our game, and to play for a win in many positions is stupid if not suicidal.  However, the draw offer in a position full of life with mysteries yet to be revealed has got to be the most abused rule in all of chess. I am not even sure you can call this a rule: it is more like a practice that has been regulated, or, in this case, not regulated enough.