In this thread, I proposed methods for online chess servers (Internet Chess Club (ICC), chess.com, lichess, etc) to manage draw claims and draw offers:
There could be a “Draw” button, on the screen at all times for the player on move, which could double as a “draw claim” button and a “draw offer” button. A player who wanted to claim or offer a draw would have to click on this button before playing his move. The host site would then act as follows:
If the position on the board, without a move by the player, is the third occurrence of the position, or if the 50-move rule has been satisfied, the host would immediately declare a draw, end the game, and inform both players.
Otherwise, a message like “You have requested a draw, now please make your move” would appear, and the host would continue to wait for the player to move.
After the player moves, if the new position now on the board satisfies the triple-occurrence or 50-move rule, the host would immediately declare the draw, as above.
Otherwise, a message would appear on the opponent’s screen, “Your opponent has requested a draw. Click the Draw button to accept, or make a move to decline.”
If the opponent accepts, the game is over. Otherwise, the game continues.
Then, just a few days later, I followed this link in the CCA online newsletter to a page on the ICC website dealing with draw claims and draw offers.
Guess what? ICC implements the exact same procedures I set forth in my earlier post, and above.
ICC, thank you for adopting my suggestions!! – especially on such short notice!
On the other hand, shame on you for not crediting me with the idea!
As you should know from your graduate work in mathematics, Newton and Leibniz came up with calculus independently, but Newton got most of the credit because he published it first. Such is life.
A sage once wrote, “It is easy to accomplish much if you don’t care who takes credit for it.”
At ICC, in addition to issuing a draw command by typing “draw”, there is a Draw button that one can simply click. This is good as we don’t always have time to type a command before opponent moves (although the USCF rule about offereing only on your own move is not followed by ICCs software, and so one can type “draw” - or click the button -on the opponent’s move as well). There’s also a Resign button.
They’re copying me again! A draw button is exactly what I proposed.
That’s not so good. It would allow a player to disturb the opponent’s thought process while that opponent’s clock is running. Perhaps ICC should follow me here. Does ICC impose a time penalty (e.g. time added to the opponent’s clock) when that happens? What if the player’s draw offer arrives just as the opponent is in the process of mousing his next move, and the opponent completes his move a split second later without noticing the offer? Does the opponent then get to take back his move and accept the draw offer?
I did come up with the idea independently, though. (I’ve never been on ICC.) And if you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you.
