The Latest In Draws

A couple of "how-to" games from August.

Everyone loves wins. Their own wins, especially, but it’s almost always more entertaining and compelling to see one player defeat another than to see them split the point.

But spare a thought for the humble draw. Sometimes it’s the product of two players giving it their best, demonstrating genuine effort and excellence, and it just happens that they are evenly matched on the day. At other times a player saves the day with a tremendous swindle or gritty defense, and those games can be admirable and even thrilling.

Draws can also be appreciated on a pragmatic basis. In Swiss system events there’s a high premium on playing for a win, but it’s not always necessary to do so. A strategically well-timed draw, especially with the black pieces against a higher-rated player, is often very helpful. One gets a black game out of the way, and if the draw was the result of excellent preparation one saves time and energy. When one works all week, then travels to a tournament, and then plays, say, five games in two days it’s easy to get fatigued. An easy draw on a Saturday night or a Sunday morning may be just the thing to keep enough energy to push for victory in the last round or two.

So with that in mind, and also because the games I’ll show you caught my eye for other reasons as well, let’s take a look at a couple of draws played in August. The first features the Fritz Variation against the Two Knights, a lively line that’s often good for a surprise. The second was played in a game between Anna and Mariya Muzychuk, which one knows a priori will end in a draw with the same level of certainty as the inevitability of death and taxes. (Unless they’re in an elimination match.) The question isn’t whether the game will be drawn, but how, and as they are both good GMs it’s interesting to see what they’ve got cooked up for the audience’s entertainment.

Have a look here; you never know when a drawing line (or two) could come in handy.