CHess is officially a game of skill.
That was the conclusion of a Brooklyn federal court case focusing on poker.
Judge Jack B. Weinstein relied on expert testimony to say that games range from chess, “an almost pure game of skill,” to roulette, a “pure game of chance.”
He concluded in August that poker was closer to chess, and therefore not gambling. On the other hand, a New Delhi court ruled last month that on-line betting on poker — or chess — is illegal gambling.
So is there any chance to chess?
Well, if you “draw for color,” the player who gets to play the white pieces gets a basic edge — and it’s purely due to luck.
In a Swiss-system tournament, there are lucky and unlucky pairings. You can be “paired up” or “down” in the last round, meaning against a stronger or weaker player.
Even in a round-robin tournament, pairings are determined by a drawing of lots. Whether you end up with more blacks than whites is decided by luck.
During play, you can win with a sound sacrifice, like 26 Rxf6! in this week’s game. But you can also win with an unsound one, if your opponent misfires.
As the Cuban world champion Jose Capablanca put it, “It’s better to be lucky than good.”