Everything about Chess Handicap totally explained
A
handicap in
chess is a way to equal the chances for players of differing strengths. There are many kinds of such handicaps: Material handicaps, move handicaps, time handicaps, etc. Handicaps were quite popular in 18th and 19th centuries, when chess was often played for money stakes; a weaker player wouldn't agree to a match 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 centuries when playing for money stakes (in increasing handicap level; the stronger player gets white unless otherwise indicated):
- Move: Weaker player gets white.
- Two moves: Weaker player gets white and starts the game by making two moves.
- Pawn and move: Weaker player gets white and the black pawn on f7 is removed from the board.
- Knight odds: Stronger player plays without a knight. Usually this is the queen's knight on b1.
- Rook odds: Stronger player plays without a rook. Usually this is the queen's rook on a1, with the white pawn on a2 being moved to a3.
- Queen odds: Stronger player plays without the queen.
In modern times,
Bobby Fischer once claimed that he could give knight odds to any woman player in the world and still win, but never demonstrated this. In 2001, London businessman Terence Chapman played a match against former world champion
Garry Kasparov with Kasparov giving odds of two pawns in each game (the pawns to be removed being different each time); Kasparov won the match by two games to one, with one drawn.
Time handicap
Time handicaps are most often practiced in
blitz games. The stronger player gets less time. For example, the stronger player might get 2 minutes per game with the weaker player getting 5 minutes.
Other forms of handicap
In 16th-19th centuries sometimes
pion coiffé (or
capped pawn) handicap was used, usually for players of significantly different playing strength. The stronger player has to make the mating move with a particular pawn, which is usually marked at the start of play. It is required that the pawn isn't promoted.
Pietro Carrera proved that in the
endgame king, queen and pawn versus king (pion coiffé), a win can be forced unless the pawn lies on a central file. Carrera considered pion coiffé to be about equivalent of giving odds of a queen.
There are other forms of handicap, which however are very rarely used:
Draw odds: a draw is considered as a win for the weaker player.
The stronger player plays the start of the game, for example the first 10-20 moves, blindfold (without sight of the board). More commonly, the stronger player plays the whole game this way.
The weaker player can take back any sequence of three moves in the course of game, but can only do so two times.
The stronger player isn't allowed to check the King unless it leads to checkmate on consecutive moves.
Handicap combinations are used as well.Further Information
Get more info on 'Chess Handicap'.
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