 More recent sources indicate that White scores approximately 54 to 56 percent . In 2005 , GM Jonathan Rowson wrote that " the conventional wisdom is that White begins the game with a small advantage and , holding all other factors constant , scores approximately 56 % to Black 's 44 % " . International Master ( IM ) John Watson wrote in 1998 that White had scored 56 % for most of the 20th century , but that this figure had recently slipped to 55 % . The website Chessgames.com holds regularly updated statistics on its games database . As of January 12 , 2015 , White had won 37 @.@ 50 % , 34 @.@ 90 % were drawn , and Black had won 27 @.@ 60 % out of 739 @,@ 769 games , resulting in a total White winning percentage of 54 @.@ 95 % . 
