Do prefer to be white or black?

i'm a defensive player. although the colour doesn'y matter but i've noticed that my win percentage is higher when i play black as compared to white. most of the players prefer white but i myself prefer playing black. in tournaments u've to play two games against a single opponent each with a different colour.

I prefer black, it is more of superstition that I choose black and nothing else. I never played any big time games. But I enjoy playing chess on Yahoo

If anyone prefers black, it's usually just a superstition or personal preference without any scientific support. When conducting statistical analysis, every major database of chess gamees shows that white had a distinct advantage (4%-7%) over black. All of the top chess engines also analyze the positions to white's advantage. On top of that, probably every Super-GM (2700+ FIDE) will say that white has an indisputable advantage.

It's all math an science. White gains the initiative because he/she makes the first move. The equilibrium has been disrupted, forming an imbalance. Black has to catch up in development right from the first move. So if white plays 1.e4 or 1.d4, he/she already has claimed territory in the center and has activated diagonals for the queen and/or bishops. Black will always be a move behind. If white plays 1.Nf3, the same idea spplies here. White already has 1 out of 4 minor pieces developed, while black has 0. The advantage is very small, but it's still there. At the GM level, white performs much better than black. With amateurs, whoever makes the mistake will lose because 1 mistake erases all the advantage.

"Is there ever an advantage to being black?"

Well, there is one advantage, black will always have more information since white declares his intentions first. And black is also the one who chooses what kind of opening/middlegame it will be.

Anyway, between players rated lower than say 2100 I wouldn't think the colour being more than marginally important. Sure, white has a*theoretical* advantage, but to maintain it throughout a game between opponents of equal strength is far from easy. Actually, on lower levels you can see white lose pretty fast because he/she plays an opening sequence that's popular and promising on higher levels -*but* on higher levels the players have studied these openings*thoroughly*...

I prefer white. I could still remember what my chess coach told me when I was still a kid. Whites are for offense, while the blacks are for defensive reasons. That would be the standing at the start of the game. The white pieces have the opportunity to attack, while the black has the great opportunity to seize that attack and use it as its own. In my case, I was labeled as an aggressive player. Offenses are for me, that's why I'm pretty suitable with the white pieces. The black pieces are for people who have better responses when it comes to attacks. If one is a really good chess player, I don't think it would still matter, whether he/she is controlling the white pieces or not.

I there...i am a chess player, i think white as a little bit advantge on the begining of the game because they have a extra time related to balck...but i prefer too play with black pieces, just because the fact of start in a worst position...maybe the hard things in life can make us stronger..like in chess as black lol...like Kasparov says: "Chess can Imitates life...lol.
Thx for the post...cheers friend