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Hot Topic (More than 10 Replies) Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"? (Read 12145 times)
Girkassa
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #16 - 07/06/12 at 20:16:34
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Interesting discussion indeed. I have struggled with a tendency to underestimate kingside attacks conducted by White, and overestimate kingside attacks conducted by Black (regardless of what colour I am playing). I have always assumed the reason to be that White is more often the attacker, so when Black is attacking, it is more unusual and therefore may imply that Black is doing well. However, I see now that the explanation could simply be that I am left-handed.

Add to this that I usually play openings with rapid queenside development for White (1.d4, 2.c4, often delaying development of the f1 bishop, occasionally getting early victories in my child years by launching a queeside attack) and with rapid kingside development for Black (Nimzo, 1.e4 e5 usually with a quick castling, KID earlier in my career). I realize that I am more left-handed than I knew.

This is not consistet with my dominant eye, though, as my right eye is dominant.
  
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #15 - 07/05/12 at 04:18:14
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Petrosian once described 1.d4 openings as serving left-handed. I've always liked that analogy.

I have no clue whether he was left-handed or not. Although I'm right-handed, I tend to move with the hand that's closest to the clock, especially in time pressure.
  
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #14 - 07/04/12 at 12:26:26
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chk wrote on 07/04/12 at 08:17:44:
My version on the matter:

I think it mostly has to do with the way chess theory developed, usually making it faster as White to attack on the K-side & as Black on the Q-side. I think it stemmed from real battles where traditionally you would see the right wing advancing to attack the enemy's left wing..


Interesting comment chk.  Clearly since the majority of people are right handed it makes sense that the battle tactics would favor a right handed approach.  I can imagine how this practical consideration (and others like it) might reinforce a bias towards your dominant hand as the researchers pointed out.

Quote:

It has nothing to do with whether you are right-handed or left-handed.  The real issue is which is your dominant eye.  Your vision is drawn to your more dominant side, so that's the side you'll tend to play on.  



That's an interesting thought as well, LeeRoth.  However I have trouble reconciling it with my own experience since I am right handed but my left eye is dominant.  I'm not sure what the expected correlation is between dominant hand and dominant eye but at least in my case they are opposites.  I've always been quite good in sports such as  basketball shooting with my left hand so perhaps I am simply a "repressed left hander"!?

SWJediknight wrote on 07/03/12 at 19:30:21:
I note that, as a left-hander, I have a disproporionate habit (relative to the average chessplayer) of castling queenside and launching kingside attacks, especially h-pawn hacks.  Left-handed development early in the game perhaps- doesn't support the left-handed/queenside attacks theory though!


I suppose it would only support the idea of left hand bias if you tended to do this more while playing Black.  As I commented earlier, I suspect at best that this is only a subtle bias that might affect what you are initially drawn to do or consider first, but other concrete considerations (especially for the more skillful players who populate this forum) would tend to override this bias.

Thanks, everyone, for offering your comments.  It's been fun to read the different ideas and experiences.  I'm glad it didn't degenerate into political jokes / comments as gwnn predicted!  Wink

Bill
  
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #13 - 07/04/12 at 08:17:44
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My version on the matter:

I think it mostly has to do with the way chess theory developed, usually making it faster as White to attack on the K-side & as Black on the Q-side. I think it stemmed from real battles where traditionally you would see the right wing advancing to attack the enemy's left wing..

e.g. in Ancient Greece the best attackers (and usually the King as well) were placed at the right wing (the King was leading the attack). Moreover, in the Greek phalanx, all soldiers had to use the spear with their right hand, while with their left they were protecting with their shield their comrade on the left. The last person in a phalanx's row was sometimes a left-handed who was carrying the spear on the left and was able to cover the whole row from attacks from the left side..
  
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #12 - 07/03/12 at 21:21:38
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LeeRoth wrote on 07/03/12 at 21:07:42:

It has nothing to do with whether you are right-handed or left-handed.  The real issue is which is your dominant eye.  Your vision is drawn to your more dominant side, so that's the side you'll tend to play on.  



Don't play this guy at chess  Cheesy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UitpyL3RU40
  
Those who want to go by my perverse footsteps play such pawn structure with fuzzy atypical still strategic orientations

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, stuck in the middlegame with you
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #11 - 07/03/12 at 21:07:42
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WSS wrote on 07/03/12 at 13:24:47:
I was reading the most recent issue of "Psychology Today" and happened upon a short article about how a person's physical interaction with the world affects their perception.  An example they used was a study that showed that right handed interviewers tended to have more favorable perceptions of applicants who appeared on their right side than applicants on their left side.  My chess mind made the connection to how I (as a right handed player) tended to optimistically favor attacks on the right hand (kingside) especially early in my career.  Of course I can think of lots of reasons why that might be true beyond this psychological factor (not the least of which is that fact that your opponent's king is most frequently on the right side after castling kingside), but it is interesting to consider how this subtle factor could influence our perception.  Clearly our goal as chess players is finding "truth" in a given position and being aware of (and dealing with) subconscious bias in our evaluation of positions is a worthy goal.

A practical consideration (also mentioned in the article) is that this biased perception is not fixed.  The article suggested that using your left hand to pick up your pen (or move your chess pieces) would tend to counteract your initial right hand bias (and vice versa.)  A useful implication might be that we should all strive to become "ambidextrous" chess players as we develop and mature our skills!   Wink

Bill


It has nothing to do with whether you are right-handed or left-handed.  The real issue is which is your dominant eye.  Your vision is drawn to your more dominant side, so that's the side you'll tend to play on.  

See here for more details:

http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1207095457

Maybe I was on to something?

Grin Grin
  
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #10 - 07/03/12 at 19:56:35
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It is only a matter time until politics is mentioned, I guess. Smiley
  
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #9 - 07/03/12 at 19:30:21
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I note that, as a left-hander, I have a disproporionate habit (relative to the average chessplayer) of castling queenside and launching kingside attacks, especially h-pawn hacks.  Left-handed development early in the game perhaps- doesn't support the left-handed/queenside attacks theory though!
  
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #8 - 07/03/12 at 17:29:27
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You lost me at 'psychology' Grin

We are having quite a scandal with doctors in the psychology doctoring their results...
  
If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through.
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #7 - 07/03/12 at 16:38:07
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Quote:
The following thought did cross my mind. I play 1. e4 and 1. Nf3, which are right handed openings, but I tend to play them quietly. Whereas with Black I play the Pirc/Modern/KID, which are left handed defences, and I tend to play them more aggressively. This may be nothing to do with my handedness, and so I'd need to play a left handed opening with White (say d4/c4) to see if I play it agressively, and a right handed defence as Black, hmmm...


That's an interesting thought.  As a young, right handed  player I was decidedly "right handed" in my choice of openings favoring 1. e4 as White and as Black the Sicilian / French (Winawer) and Nimzo-Indian (loved to slam my dark square bishop down on b4 with my right hand!?) and Benoni.  It was only later that I became more ambidextrous with 1 d4 and 1 c4 although I've still favored right handed openings as Black (adding Nikos' beloved Tarrasch.)

Bill
  
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #6 - 07/03/12 at 16:18:43
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WSS wrote on 07/03/12 at 15:45:25:
JEH has already commented that he doesn't see any influence on his game as a left hander so if it has any effect at all I suspect it is subtle.

Bill



The following thought did cross my mind. I play 1. e4 and 1. Nf3, which are right handed openings, but I tend to play them quietly. Whereas with Black I play the Pirc/Modern/KID, which are left handed defences, and I tend to play them more aggressively. This may be nothing to do with my handedness, and so I'd need to play a left handed opening with White (say d4/c4) to see if I play it agressively, and a right handed defence as Black, hmmm...
  
Those who want to go by my perverse footsteps play such pawn structure with fuzzy atypical still strategic orientations

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, stuck in the middlegame with you
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #5 - 07/03/12 at 15:45:25
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mangler wrote on 07/03/12 at 14:47:53:
To quote the great Charles Shackelford "I'm amphibious."


That brings back some memories!  Grin  

Being ambidextrous (or "amphibious") is certainly valued in basketball and a few other sports such as soccer and baseball (switch hitter).  My dad has played tennis successfully for many years switching hands so he has a forehand on both sides (which certainly drives his opponents crazy!) but that is quite unusual.

It would be interesting (though not terribly useful) to find out through a survey if left handed chess players tend to favor left handed (queenside) attacks while right handed players favor king side attacks.  JEH has already commented that he doesn't see any influence on his game as a left hander so if it has any effect at all I suspect it is subtle.

Bill
  
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #4 - 07/03/12 at 15:27:02
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I am left handed, but I've no evidence it has any influence on my choice of openings or plans. 

There is a physical effect of clock location. If the clock, scoresheet and the hand you move the pieces with are all on the same side, this must gain you x seconds per move which is important in time scrambles (well except for the score sheet where you arn't recording, although that adds up over the game). So there must be some advantage in being ambidextrous.

Also, being left handed, in cramped tournament conditions, I clash over table space with a right handed player playing next to me.
  
Those who want to go by my perverse footsteps play such pawn structure with fuzzy atypical still strategic orientations

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, stuck in the middlegame with you
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #3 - 07/03/12 at 15:07:59
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I can move pieces with either hand, but my handwriting is messy no matter which hand I use. At least we don't have to handwrite our posts  Grin

Back on topic: I haven't noticed much difference between right-handed and left-handed players, although left-handed players might be a bit closer to the ends of the spectrum of time management (getting in time trouble early/finishing the game with half or more of your time on the clock) than right-handed players.
  
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Re: Are Chess Players "Right Handed" or "Left Handed"?
Reply #2 - 07/03/12 at 14:47:53
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To quote the great Charles Shackelford "I'm amphibious."

http://jaspry.blogspot.com/2008/06/to-quote-charles-shacklerford-hes.html
  
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