Do prefer to be white or black?

@jodenton (222)
August 1, 2007 9:26am CST
It is often said that being white is a great advantage and that if you get a draw as black you have got a good result. Is there ever an advantage to being black?
1 person likes this
6 responses
@abhi333 (407)
• India
1 Aug 07
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.
1 person likes this
@jodenton (222)
1 Aug 07
Hmm...this is interesting! Which country are you from. I've played in many tournaments in the UK and they are slightly different. say you play 6 games you will usually play 3 black and 3 white but they will all be against different people.
@abhi333 (407)
• India
1 Aug 07
i'm from india but i'm not a chessplayer on any level here because i concentrate more on my studies though i've been the gold-medalist for two running years in the university. i play tournamnets on websites like www.chesshere.com or www.gameknot.com
@Sungolian (377)
• United States
12 Nov 07
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.
@tutul0045 (2630)
• India
8 Dec 07
Hi, Thats a wonderful post. deserved to get the best response. Cheers, Tutul
• India
1 Aug 07
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
@tutul0045 (2630)
• India
8 Dec 07
Well i prefer white always. I can make the first move that way and i can dictate the game on my terms. I have not played as a black in many occassions. So i guess iam nota very good player with black. Well i played in yahoo too. And i reached above 1600 points. I have met some tremendous chess players there. Cheers, Tutul
@abhi333 (407)
• India
2 Aug 07
i've played many games on yahoo chess but now i prefer correspondance chess rather than realtime chess. the highest rating i ever reached on yahoo is 1478. what about u?
@marie31 (17)
• Philippines
23 Dec 07
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.
• Portugal
7 Jan 08
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
@srganesh (6340)
• India
16 Apr 09
I like to play with black pieces.Allowing the white to come out,know his plan,build my defence well and attack at the right moment,when he doesn't expect.That is how I like to play chess and black is my favorite.Cheers!