Somebody has to go first or the two players would sit there and never begin to play. So somebody decided White would start, centuries ago. When two players sit down, one puts a white pawn in one hand and a black pawn in the other and holds them behind his back; he may swap them behind his back, or not. Then he holds his hands out and the other player chooses one, so they have even chances of playing White or Black. If they play several games, they switch colors each time. There is a small advantage in playing first, but skill outweighs that.
At grandmaster level, white wins 52 percent of the time.
First answer by ID1207203715. Last edit by Fisheye2. Contributor trust: 16 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 20 [recommend question]
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