 Joseph Bertin wrote in his <unk> textbook The Noble Game of Chess , " He that plays first , is understood to have the attack . " This is consistent with the traditional view that White , by virtue of the first move , begins with the initiative and should try to extend it into the <unk> , while Black should strive to neutralize White 's initiative and attain equality . Because White begins with the initiative , a minor mistake by White generally leads only to loss of the initiative , while a similar mistake by Black may have more serious consequences . Thus , Sveshnikov wrote in 1994 , " Black players cannot afford to make even the slightest mistake ... from a theoretical point of view , the tasks of White and Black in chess are different : White has to strive for a win , Black — for a draw ! " 
