In 1857, Johann Löwenthal, a British master, sent two letters to the secretary of the New York Chess Club, proposing one of the first recorded proposals to make it obligatory for the white player to make the first move at the First American Chess Congress held in New York.
On page 164 of the Code of Chess Laws, which was written during the Fifth American Chess Congress in 1880, it states that the player who has the initial turn must consistently play with the white pieces. This regulation was not promptly embraced, and competition organizers retained flexibility regarding the first move. On page 84 of the congress’s proceedings, it refers to one of the letters by mentioning “the prudence of consistently awarding the first move, in published games, to the player with the white pieces…”
“In all international and public Chess matches and tournaments, the rule is that the player who gets the white pieces first. Nonetheless, Wilhelm Steinitz, the inaugural world champion, reiterated this concept in his 1889 publication, “The Modern Chess Instructor,” where he stated on page XII: “The participants determine their move and color through a random selection process.”
Hence, there was an increasing agreement that the color white should have the initial move.
What are the psychological effects of white going first?
There are several psychological factors at play when a beginner learns the power of “first white” in chess. A beginner of chess quickly learns the power of “first white” if given the choice, they will see that an opponent will prefer the white pieces. They feel a sense of empowerment even when they are playing a stronger opponent, which may motivate white players to play more and win. We have conditioned ourselves to believe that black should be the content with a draw.
The initial advantage of making the first move, an effort to demonstrate dominance, received significant attention in the early literature on chess, capitalizing on the advantage of playing as the white side against the black side. In numerous ways, this relegation of the black side to a subordinate position has been consistently reinforced.
The theoretical framework provided by András Adorján, a Hungarian grandmaster, features black diagrams that adequately represent the resources and perspectives of black. This series of books is considered “seminal” for strategic systems focusing on black. However, this is also true for books that focus on strategic systems for black. When one looks at diagrams in chess books, they are generally positioned from the white army’s perspective, but from the black army’s perspective, the diagrams are generally positioned.
Theophilus Thompson (1855-1881), the pioneering Black player, authored a book of chess puzzles featuring common scenarios where white has the winning sequence.
There are many great systems where the aggressor seeks black. I believe that the strategic literature for a black response will continue to increase, moving the game closer to a 50-50 result in the “white first” format. Books are still published to a great extent in this fashion.
The essence of what the story is about is not who starts first, but rather how it unfolds. While the game of chess is unique, someone needs to initiate the conversation to engage both sides in a battle of ideas. Chess is more than just a game; it is a conversation where both sides engage in a battle of ideas.
Does the rule give white an advantage?
In my opinion, chess players, including grandmasters, exaggerate the advantage of white’s first move.
Russian grandmaster Evgeny Sveshnikov stated back in 1994 that a player should win with white and be content to draw with black.
In an attempt to demonstrate a specific argument, Horowitz ultimately suffered defeat in a game against I.A. Weaver Adams. Adams argued that playing as white gives an advantage, particularly when the initial move involves advancing the pawn to the e4 square, which is located three spaces ahead of white’s king. This viewpoint was expressed by the American master as early as 1939.
Should we consider the outcome to be valid, as suggested by Steinitz in his classic book “Modern Chess Instructor” on page XXXII? This is because the result of the first move indicates that more than half of the games played resulted in draws, including both wins and losses. Since 1475 A.D., White has won approximately 55% of the overall games, totaling nearly one million.
Was that decision rooted in racism?
I am not aware of any direct evidence. However, men of their times were not the only ones who were part of the intelligentsia, but also chess players. In the proceedings of the American Sixth Chess Congress in 1889, Steinitz poetically extolled the virtues of chess as one of the intellectual pastimes of civilized nations on page X. When Europeans began executing their “colonial plan” by bringing civilization’s blessings to homes and instructing the natives, they generally did not regard Africa as a place of civilization, as was the case five years earlier at the Berlin Conference of 1884.
In recent social science research, it has been shown that there was a negative perception associated with black individuals and a positive perception associated with white individuals. During the 19th century, there existed caricatures that darkened and dehumanized Black individuals, portraying them in a satirical and demeaning manner.
How would things change if black moved first?
With the advantage of making the initial move, certain individuals interpreted it as a proposal to modify the regulations of chess to favor the black pieces. This endeavor was presented as a stance against racism, with the quote being, “Today, we violated a chess rule in order to shape future perspectives.” In an effort to acknowledge societal disparities, Magnus Carlsen and Anish Giri, who were ranked as the top and tenth players in the world as of July, actively advocated for the #MoveforEquality movement in 2019.
The monarch is positioned on the right side as the black piece. As the white side, the queen is situated on the left side. Due to the slight variation in positioning between the white and black chess armies, this would particularly apply to the initial moves. Players who are accustomed to the white side taking the first move would need some time to adjust if the black side moved first.
In her book “The Color Confrontation Theory,” the late psychiatrist Frances Cress Welsing noted that the first move in a game of chess is often made by the white player, while the black player is seen as the aggressor. She used this analogy to highlight the natural forces at play, pointing out that society views lighter skin color as having certain racial privileges.
When playing chess, a completely distinct strategy would be implemented, but “equal opportunity” would still be the guiding principle. Determining which color gets to move first would be akin to flipping a coin, rather than choosing which player gets the advantageous color. In shatranj, a precursor to modern-day chess, both colors were given a 50% chance to move first, which socially speaking, would be an ideal solution.