With the 2018 World Championship seeing 12 drawn games in a row, there has been talk of how to possibly provide more excitement in such matches. In the cases where both players are almost equally matched, finding a way to provide a level of decisiveness is difficult.
Borrowing heavily from discussions I have seen on the English Chess Forum (involving IA Alex Holowczak and others), I wonder if the following format could work
The match is divided into 3 sets of 4 games. The first player to reach 2.5 points wins the set (as in Tennis). In the case of a 2-2 tie, then a tie-breaker of 6 blitz games are held (G/5m) with the first to 3.5 wining the set. In the case of a 3-3 tie in the tie-break, then an 'Armageddon' game is held to decide the set. The first player to win 2 sets wins the title. Colours alternate for each game of the set (including Armageddon if necessary). They swap for the first game of the next set. The defending Champion has choice of White or Black for the first game of the first set.
I'm not saying that this format is perfect, but in terms of marketing and tension, it may be a slight improvement over the current system, as there will be a leader and chaser earlier in the event.
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Yes, darts and billiards have tried the "sets" concept at times too.
No idea whether it would work in chess, which has that nagging draw dominance.
Closest analogue is indeed probably holding serve in tennis (on some surfaces).
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