There is a long-held belief in the chess community that the player with the white pieces has an advantage in making the first move. This phenomenon has been observed repeatedly in over-the-board games between high-level players and professionals. However, less is known about the prevalence of white’s advantage in games played between amateurs in more casual settings. This article attempts to identify a first-move advantage in chess by examining a large database of amateur games played online on a dedicated chess website. Win rates are calculated for various rating levels, and the influence of opening move choice is also explored. These results can help determine whether there is an inherent first-move advantage in chess observable for all players in multiple settings, or if this effect is exclusively seen with players of high skill during games played in person.
Tyler Cook (Fri,) studied this question.