First-move advantage in chess draw given best play prevails. Even if it cannot be proved, this assumption is considered "safe" by Rowson and "logical" by Adorján. Watson agrees that "the proper result of a perfectly played chess game ... is a draw. ... Of course, I can't prove this, but I doubt that you can find a single strong player who would disagree. ... I remember Kasparov, after a last-round draw, explaining to the waiting reporters: 'Well, chess is a draw. World Champion Bobby Fischer thought that "it's almost definite that the game is a draw theoretically". Similarly, British grandmaster Nigel Short wrote that
Michael Rohde (chess player) Michael Rohde (chess player) Michael Rohde (born August 26, 1959) is an American chess grandmaster and attorney-at-law. Rohde was rated as a master at thirteen. He gained the International Master title in 1976, followed by that of Grandmaster in 1988. At one point, he was ranked as high as 59th in the world. In 1975 he was the National Scholastic Chess Champions Junior High School Champion, and the following year he was the High School Champion. He won first place in the U.S. Open in 1991 as well as several other titles. He wrote the "Game of the Month" column