Prof Peter Ayton (Letters, 23 September) rightly points out that chess can be affected by chance factors, which is why I was careful to say that chess involves virtually no luck. However, the degree of luck involved, compared with that inherent in backgammon (which is also subject to the same variables he mentions), is likely to be modest. Indeed, if an intermediate player were to play a chess grandmaster, it would surely be a vanishingly small factor, very unlikely to affect the inevitable outcome. By contrast, a beginner playing against a world-class backgammon player can expect to win about 30% of the time. Having said that, losing is a big part of the game. Part of the skill comes in minimising and managing those losses over the course of a session (or match) and, by careful play, maximising ones chances of getting “lucky” in the long run.
Stephen Morris
Bristol
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