Which side in chess would win if both players played “perfectly”?

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Isn’t chess a “finite” game where no luck is involved? Are computers able to calculate perfect strategies for both players?

And if yes, then which side is at the advantage?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

If both sides played nothing but perfect moves then it’s quite likely the game would end in a draw. Which is also how most games at a very high level end.

But there’s so many possibilities in Chess that there’s always the chance of a win even with perfect moves.

Stockfish is currently regarded as the best Chess engine and the draw rate for Stockfish on Stockfish games is roughly about 60% – 70%

But there have also been University papers written about first move advantage in Chess. Contrary to popular belief Chess does not have equal odds for the players, White (having the first turn) has an ever so slight advantage.

But to answer you other question, Chess has little luck involved (other than the human factor of making a mistake) but it’s not Tic Tac Toe. There are so many possible outcomes in a Chess match that no 2 Chess games at a high level are identical.

There are so many possible outcomes in a Chess game that mathematicians haven’t bothered to try to figure out home many possible games there are.

So it’s not simply a matter of having a database of every single possible outcome and picking “the right move” because there are so many possibilities that if your opponent plays “the wrong move” after your “correct move” it can change the outcome of the game in either players favor.

It’s a case of collapsing probabilities

Player A plays the move that gives them the highest statistic chance of winning, but then their opponent does the same thing, which in turn reduces player A’s possibility of winning even if by a slight amount.

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