The Chess Doctor Is In:
What’s With the Quick Draw?

PHOTO: FIDE, Lennart Ootes

What is the reasoning behind very quick draws? A good question, as even in the most interesting, fighting tournaments, you are bound to find a game or two that end in under twenty moves. Luckily, the much worse scourge of fixing games (such as the black player throwing the game to split the money prizes the first player obtains) seems to have left the competitive arena for the most part.

The subject of swift draws between strong players is another matter entirely. There can be any number of reasons for a game without content. The most obvious occurs, of course, in the last round of a big tournament. Often a draw between two frontrunners will secure a tie for first (or occasionally an IM or GM norm) for both, along with a big chunk of cash. The most recent example of the latter situation is this game from the last round of the 2021 National Open, in which both players were leading with 6.5/8:

Other than these circumstances, I often see players quickly agree to a peaceful result when they have nothing left to play for in the tournament. When all hopes and dreams have been dashed, I admit it can be hard to muster that fighting spirit, especially when fatigue begins to set in.

It should not come as a surprise that when a higher rated player has gone a bit wrong in the opening (and perhaps obtained a position with zero winning chances and real potential for a loss), he will use the draw offer as a last resort. There are infinite examples of lower players accepting these offers in positions that distinctly favor them. Keep fighting! There is nothing a stronger player fears more than an adversary openly gunning for the win. And besides, the “better” player is loath to offer a draw unless the situation is truly desperate. This should be perceived as a demonstration of their temporary weakness. (See more about when to accept draw offers at this link)

These thoughts aside, it sometimes happens that both players fight their hearts out, but in the end a draw can’t be avoided. Let me show you another game from the National Open that fascinated me with its complexity. Yoo-Akopian below could easily be perceived as a colorless draw (despite the greater amount of moves than our discussion covers), as nothing much seemed to happen. In the end, despite some flashy tactics from both sides, all the pieces came off the board without a great fight and a draw was agreed.

I shall hope to make it clear that this was not a dull game. White (a talented junior player who I expect to become a GM in the not too lengthy future) played very clear, simple chess, and could have hoped to obtain an advantage against a less than sharp opponent. But GM Vladimir Akopian is no patzer, and it is possible to gain valuable insights into a strong player’s thought process by observing his accurate defensive play:

So far, we have been covering quicker finishing (but still presumably real) games. As of yet we haven’t dealt with one of the most controversial aspects of tournament chess: the prearranged draw. Should it be banned? And when are the most common situations it occurs?

At least in modern times, quick draws are very rarely prearranged. Typically, if a draw favors both players (see the situations mentioned above), the game will end very quickly, but there is no verbal agreement. These days I think the prearranged draw is mostly used between very good friends or training partners, almost as a form of respect. This is surely the case with Mamedyarov/Radjabov and others.

Eleventh World Champion Bobby Fischer made his viewpoint on prearranged draws clear: they are a scourge that must be eliminated. He even wrote an article for Sports Illustrated that called out three Soviet players in the 1962 Candidates Tournament (held in Curaçao) for pre-arranged draws. His accusation was that they were saving their energy to play at their best against him, and therefore halt him from winning the tournament.

The players in question (GM’s Petrosian, Geller, and Keres), stated that they were simply conserving energy in the 8 player, quadruple round robin (28 rounds!). Both points of views are reasonable, though Fischer had more holes in his thought process. Shouldn’t he be happy that his rivals were drawing quickly, while he was playing for the win in every game?

Putting this age-old controversy to the side, my conclusion is that prearranged draws, while unfortunate, will never leave the world of chess. Some tournament organizers have creatively tried to put a stop to them by introducing a minimum number of moves (such as 40), or even barring draw offers altogether (!), but even this can be circumvented relatively easily. All we can do is focus on our own games and play our best, fighting chess!

Hope this helps answer the original question! As always, thanks for reading and feel free to submit your own questions by clicking the button below.