FAQ > Game Play > Why does this game start so weird?
Q: When I grew up playing chess, I would hold a black pawn and a white pawn behind my back and make my opponent choose a hand. The hand they chose was the color they were going to be for the game. Sovereign Chess, for first moves, uses "randomness" and lets my opponent choose whether to take the first move or keep a move. Why?
A: Sovereign Chess begins a game by using the "pie rule." That is that the first player (White) makes the opening move and the second player has the option of letting the move stand (and play as Black)... OR... Switching places, in which case he or she is now the first player, and the "new" second player now makes his or her "first" move. Effectively, the second player becomes the first player; the game proceeds from that opening move with the newly reversed roles.
The reason for this has to do with ensuring fairness in games where there may be a first-move advantage. The practical result is that the first player will choose a move neither too strong nor too weak, and the second player will have to decide whether the first move advantage is worth it.
For more on this, read my blog post about "Using a Pie to Solve a Classic Gaming Question."
Last updated on November 27, 2012 by Mark Bates