Handicap (chess)

Various permutations of these, such as pawn and two moves, are also possible. Handicaps were quite popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, when chess was often played for money stakes, in order to induce weaker players to play for wagers. Today handicaps are rarely seen in serious competition outside of human–computer chess matches. As chess engines have been routinely superior to even chess masters since the late 20th century, human players need considerable odds to have practical chances in such matches – as of 2025, approximately knight odds for strong grandmasters. According to Harry Golombek, "Odds-giving reached its heyday in the eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century." Indeed, it was so prevalent in the 18th century that Philidor (1726–1795) played the vast majority of his games at odds. About fifteen percent of the known games of Paul Morphy (1837–1884) are games in which he gave odds. Other strong odds-givers of this time were George Henry Mackenzie (1837–1891) and Wilhelm Steinitz (1836–1900).