Chess handicap
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Handicap in chess is a way to equal chances for players of different strengths. There are many kinds of handicaps in chess: material handicaps, move handicaps, time handicaps etc. Handicaps were quite popular in 18th and 19th centuries, when the chess was often played for money stakes and a weaker player wouldn't accept the challenge without a handicap. However in modern times playing with handicaps is much less common.
Standard handicap system
The following system was used by chess players in 18th and 19th century when playing for money stakes (in increasing handicap level):
- Move: weaker player gets white.
- Two moves: weaker player gets white and makes two moves at the game start.
- Pawn and move: weaker player gets white and the black pawn f7 is removed from the board.
- Knight odds: stronger player plays without a knight. Usually this is a queen's knight on b1.
- Rook odds: stronger player plays without a rook. Usually this is a queen's rook on a1.
- Queen odds: stronger player plays without the queen.
Time handicap
Time handicaps are usually practiced in blitz games. The stronger player gets less time. For example, stronger player gets 2 minutes per game and weaker player 5 minutes.
Other forms of handicap
There are other forms of handicap, which however are very rarely used:- Pion coiffé (or capped pawn): stronger player needs to deliver checkmate with a pawn to win.
- Odds of the draw: draw considered as a win for weaker player.
- Stronger player plays start of the game, for example 10-20 moves, blindfold. More commonly, the stronger player plays the whole game that way.
- The weaker player can take back any sequence of 3 moves in the course of game, but only do it two times.
References
- D.B. Pritchard (1994). The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants (p. 212, Odds). ISBN 0952414201.
External links
- [Odds chess] by Roger Cooper.
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