Is White's first move an advantage?

I would love to get the opinion of various chess.com players here:

a. Does White's first move gives the player an advantage?

b. If so why does blacks first move determines most of the time what the opening is?

I personally dont think that the first move gives White an advantage; I always loved to play black as we can determine how the game moves forward!

What are your thoughts?

I think the general concensus is that white does have an advantage. If a game progresses symetrically, Like both sides getting out the e-pawn, the g-knights, and so on, white can attack or check first and break the cycle.

EDIT: Sorry, missed the g key and hit f instead.

Well, yes I think white does have an advantage.  It all depends on whether white challenges black or attacks.  Whether white keeps the initiative with his opening or not. 

Of course it is.  Through millions and millions of chess games, White scores significantly better.

Spiffe is correct;

Statistically, white wins more often, so there is no doubt that white, IN GENERAL, has an advantage.

White eggs boil faster than brown one`s, so who knows?

Depends. Are you and your opponent over 2500? If yes, then yes. If no, then no.

This looks like the correct answer to me.

In my games white isn't really much of an advantage: my score is the same with both colours. I guess this is because I like positions which are off the blacnce, and the extra move can only be an advantage in symetrical positions.

I disagree slightly. Either White has a categorically distinct advantage or White does not, regardless of the player's strength. The player's skill might determine whether this advantage is put to good use or wasted completely, but not whether the advantage was there. White's first-move advantage is just part of the nature of the game no matter who is playing.

duyvejonck> Are there statistics about how often White wins

After 1.e4, White wins 37.4%, draws 33.7%, and loses 28.9% based on a small database of approximately 247,000 games. All DBs show some advantage for White.

4chess> a. Does White's first move gives the player an advantage?

Practically... yes! White has a slightly better game and wins more often.

Theoretically, the jury's still out. White's extra move advantage is somewhat counter-balanced by Black's extra information. Many believe with perfect play by both sides the advantage will eventually fizzle out to a draw.

4chess> b. If so why does blacks first move determines most of the time what the opening is?

Black more often names things because the Sicilian has overtaken the Spanish and Italian Games in popularity, but White always gets the first opportunity to name things. Eg, the Polish, English, Bird, or Grob. Both sides shape the opening.

4chess,

1. Is White's extra tempo an advantage?

Um, do bears $#!& in the woods? But no seriously, the ideas behind winning chess basically involve bringing your pieces off the back ranks and coordinating a skillful attack and defense against your opponent. There is so much symmetry and equality in chess that anything that can break these things will likely result in a win.

How many times have you seen a game (similar to the finals of "Searching For Bobby Fischer" except Waitzkin's opponent forgot to factor in the safety of his King) where both players are racing to Queen a pawn, and the first person who does so will win? Being that extra tempo up really helps the attacking player.

It's like starting a race a step ahead of your opponent. It's not necessarily going to determine the outcome of the race, but all things equal, you have the edge.

2. Who determines the flow of the game?

Ultimately, White does. Black has lots of say in this matter, to be sure. For example, if White opens 1. e4, it's Black's choice whether he wants a classical game or a hypermodern one. He can choose a symmetrical defense 1. e5 or an asymmetrical defense 1. c5. So he does have some choices. This really helps prevent White from winning all the games, because White does have to be aware of what Black is trying to do.

However, Black is still at the whims of White. Let's say Black wants an extremely tactical game. Well if White chooses to open 1. d4, he is taking the game into a closed, strategical direction, and there's not much Black can do about this. Let's say Black wants a slower-paced, strategic battle. Well, if White opens 1. e4 there are sure to be some major fireworks in the opening if Black is not careful, so there's nothing he can do about it. What if White wants a semi-open game that is a mix of both by opening something like 1. c4? Or what if White wants a grind-it-out battle with an opening like 1. b3? In the end, Black is forced to play White's game. The majority of openings and their variations are characterized by the choices White makes.

white for offense and black for defense. White has an advantage with the first move for sure.

White are winning about 60% of games, but as the players are stronger, the advantage of coulour is less important.

Both sides decide about the type of game, if White want tactical fight, and Black closed game, after 1. e4 Black response 1. ...c6.

I disagree. Rather I think that as players get higher rated colour becomes more important! It's usually a huge ask for a player to win as Black in a must win situation at a Super-GM tournament.. However, at lower levels than Master it's usually the better player who will win anyway regardless of colour..

swiniaWkosmosie> Both sides decide about the type of game, if White want tactical fight, and Black closed game, after 1. e4 Black response 1. ...c6.

White replies 1.e4 c6 2.c4!? or 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.f3!?. 

It is undisputable that white poseses an advantage by moving first, but at less-than master level the colors don't matter much, so no worries for most of us.

You've missed an integral part of the equation: Not all of us play 1.e4 or 1.d4

As a Birdman, I play 1.f4. Now, I'm not here to say I'm awesome, the point of my post is that Bird's opening actually has a certain level of disregard for black's moves unless From's Gambit shows up or something. There are many openings that are very flexible and can transpose like water. So, in the end, white has an advantage only in going first, because tempo is VERY IMPORTANT in chess. I initially stopped playing 1.e4 because I hated the sicilian, but now I play 1.f4 because I love 1.f4. Black is not always in control of the game after move 1.

It was a huge advantage 150 years ago when the defensive technique and along with the lack of defensive schemes for Black were poorly developed.That's what I think.

Even stockfish says that white has the advantage.