Questions tagged [draw]
Questions relating to drawing in chess
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Why is stalemate a draw?
It is so difficult to force stalemate and sometimes unintentional too, so why is stalemate a draw?
As the opponent doesn't have a further move, why is it not considered a win?
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What is sufficient mating material?
The FIDE chess rules describe that "The game is draw when a position is reached from which a checkmate cannot occur by any possible series of legal moves" (FIDE rule 9.6). This rules is sometimes ...
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Examples of forced stalemate
The usual case one often sees specially in blitz play is when one side (usually the winning) mis-plays and then stalemate occurs with the losing side dodging a loss. But are there positions where ...
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Does checkmate over ride 50-move rule?
If a move reaches the 50-move rule and gives checkmate at the same time, does the checkmate take priority over the draw?
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Winning percentage (white win/draw/black win) in chess960/9LX in 2021?
How does the winning percentage (white win/draw/black win) in chess 960 (Fischer random) compare to that of regular chess?
The above was asked here: Winning percentage in chess 960. I would like to ...
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Is it a draw by insufficient material if the board is K vs K, N & N?
It isn't possible to force checkmate with King vs. King, Knight & Knight. A checkmate position, however, is still possible to achieve, so does that mean the 50 move rule applies, or does ...
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With only a king left, how many moves remaining until a draw?
I am a beginner in chess. If I have only a king left, how many moves does my opponent have to mate me?
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How is this scenario a draw? [duplicate]
Firstly, I'm very very bad at chess. I've known how to play for most of my life, but I've never been good, so I'm trying to get good by playing against easy computers.
I commonly end in draws with ...
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Would a classic full time armageddon tiebreaker be balanced?
I think that classic chess and rapid chess are two quite different kinds of sport. The classic chess title was undecided this year 2018.
Why not use the armageddon rule, that black wins if tied in ...
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Is it possible to checkmate with knight and king against king?
I would like to clarify two things:
Is it possible to checkmate with only a knight and a king against a lone king?
What will happen when one side has a king and knight and the other has just a king, ...
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Rules: en passant and draw by triple repetition
A question of rulebook pedantry:
One can claim a draw when the same position occurs the third time, the same player having the move.
Two positions are not the same if the earlier allows a capture en ...
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Is computer chess exhibiting the predicted "draw death"?
At various times, even going back 100 years or more, people have been predicting the "draw death" of chess meaning that top players will get so good that every game will be a draw.
In the 1984 World ...
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With only the King left, how can you get a draw?
Let's say I have only the King left.
I've read several rules and posts of people saying there is a limit to the number of moves your opponent has to check mate you in, but there are some ...
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He has two queens. I have one. Is it proper chess etiquette to check him non stop just to avoid losing?
I am losing a game. My only option is to check my opponent non stop. I have no chance to checkmate him. I am only hoping to force a draw. Is this proper chess etiquette?
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Draws, castling rights, and the FIDE's 2014 rulebook revision
A question of rulebook pedantry:
Effective July 2014, the FIDE has revised its Laws of Chess. As you know, the Laws have long allowed a player to claim a draw by repetition. The July 2014 Laws, ...
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What happens after two kings stay on the board?
A lot of times my sibling and I have played chess and have ended up with just two kings. We have never known what would happen next. Two kings on the board would somehow result in an infinite game, as ...
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Checkmate with King and Knight vs King and Knight
I just have a quick question. I was playing on chess.com and got into the following position:
[FEN "8/4n/6k1/8/K2/3N1/8/8 b - - 0 1"]
Now, I assumed that once we traded off the last pawns, the game ...
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Maximum number of pieces on board in dead position
It is possible in a chess game to have a dead position in which both players have all eight pawns, one bishop, and a king--20 pieces total. If the two players' pawns are interlocked in "zig-zag" ...
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Are world-class correspondence games more likely to be drawn than world class OTB games?
A games of chess with perfect play from both sides may be a draw. And while we don't have any perfect chess players it does seem that a match between two equally strong grandmasters is more likely to ...
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What rule changes are proposed to minimize the incentive to draw a game?
Many world champion games are drawn, and people in the general public think that is disappointing. Not to debate that opinion here, but the question seems to be out there. So what would a rule change ...
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Classical Time Control Armageddon? [duplicate]
The fate of chess has been discussed for a long time and in recent years it has become more and more common. Examples of this include the 2018 World Chess Championship(12 draws) and the 2016 World ...
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Can a human defeat an engine in a 10-game match if he is given the White pieces and draw odds in every game?
What would happen in a 10-game match between one of the strongest human player (Carlsen, Caruana, Aronian, Kramnik or Anand) and one of the strongest engine (Komodo, Stockfish or Houdini), but with ...
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Is this endgame (sort-of Q vs K) a draw?
I think the following endgame is a draw.
[FEN "7k/5BpP/3K2P1/8/8/8/8/4q3 w - - 0 1"]
My reasoning: I'm playing white. I will only move my king, always. Black's king cannot move. If the queen decide ...
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How do you hold a draw with a knight against a rook?
Knight and King versus Rook and King is a theoretical draw. Yet, you might lose if you don't know the method. How do you hold a draw?
user2001
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Has the 75 move draw rule ever been invoked in a FIDE rated standard game involving a GM?
In the latest FIDE Laws of Chess the arbiter is supposed to step in and declare the game drawn if 75 moves are played by both sides with no captures and no pawn moves.
It would be understandable if ...
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The history of the 175-move draw rule
The U.S. Chess Federation piloted a 175-move draw rule in the fourth edition of its Official Rules. This interesting rule ended a game automatically after 175 moves, whether or not either player had ...
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Are there endgames which could be forced wins if not for the 50-move rule?
Wikipedia's article on the fifty-move rule states:
All of the basic checkmates can be accomplished in well under 50 moves. However, in the 20th century it was discovered that some positions of ...
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Is the pawns only variant a draw?
In the pawns-only variant of chess, each side starts with 8 pawns and a king on the usual squares, no pieces,
with other rules being the same as in regular chess, including promotion.
While general ...
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Resignation when a draw is offered
In a recent online game, I offered a draw when the endgame is clearly drawing. To my surprise, instead of replying to my draw offer, my opponent resigned. I have no idea why they did so and my best ...
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What is the proper way to ask for a draw?
I know that the rule states "The game is drawn upon agreement between the two players. This immediately ends the game." but what I'm interested in knowing the exact way to offer a draw because I've ...
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What are the different rules for claiming a draw?
According to the current FIDE rules of chess:
The game is drawn upon a correct claim by the player having the move, when the same position, for at least the third time (not necessarily by a ...
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Is there any chess engine that can show if one side has a forced draw?
Is there any chess engine that has an analysis mode that can show if a position is a forced draw by either side?
It is common for engines to output evaluations of 0.0 when they detect a draw. But an ...
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Is shuffling aimlessly for hundreds of moves permissible?
As I write this, game 73 of the TCEC Season 18 superfinal has just ended. What was most "interesting" about this game is the sheer amount of shuffling both sides did: starting from around ...
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Is this endgame position a draw?
It’s white to move.
[FEN "8/8/8/3k3p/3P3K/2P3R1/8/7r w - - 0 1"]
I was white, and this was a blitz game which ended up as a draw because I didn't know what to do. My friend and I later analyzed this ...
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Can I win this Rook and Pawn vs Bishop endgame?
I'm playing white and I've been unable to get the black king out of the corner. Does black have a guaranteed stalemate or is there some way to force him out the corner?
[fen "5K1k/6R1/7P/8/8/8/2b5/8 ...
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What opening is recommended if white is only playing for a draw?
If in a tournament game, white is only aiming for a draw, what openings and strategies will be recommended for him? I guess that the answer may depend on the following different mindset for black:
...
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Is it poor form to win a drawn position on time?
I was playing a 3-minute game, my opponent had around 15 seconds to my ~50 seconds when he managed to cancel out the last pawns to make it so we each had a king and a rook. I let his time run out and ...
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What's a good explanation for stalemate being a draw for a beginning chess player?
I've started playing chess a little more using an app on my phone, and frequently run into the situation where I'm dominating the computer opponent (on an easy difficulty level) to the point where he ...
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Books on drawing
There are multiple instances of books that promise winning opening repertoire. What about drawish openings, drawish strategies, etc?
So, are there books focused solely on drawing?
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Why do chess engines cause immediate draws rather than giving the opponent the opportunity to blunder or run out of time?
Consider a chess position like this one:
[FEN "K7/4k1p1/8/8/3B4/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
1. Ka7 (1. Bxg7) 1... g5 2. Ka6 Kd6 3. Ka5 Kd5 4. Ba7 Kc4 5. Bb6 Kc3 6. Bc5 Kb2 7. Ka4 Ka1 8. Kb3 g4 9. Kc2 ...
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Can anyone please explain why this position isn't a draw?
I was watching this game on Lichess.
Both of the players have the same resource i.e., the king and only a bishop. The bishops on the board are of the opposite color. But the game was continued and one ...
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In how many cases of K, P vs. K, N, N endings can the stronger side force checkmate?
For instance, it wouldn't be possible if the Pawn was on the verge of queening. But is it always possible if the Pawn started off on its original square? Is it usually possible? Or is it only ...
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Longest series of mutual "!" moves
Normally I'd pester the/a computer chess forum, but I couldn't register yet...
On the Matplus chess forum, the following construction task came up.
Both White and Black are on the brink of ...
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Why did this game end with a draw?
This game starts with
f4 e5
g4
IMO, black has a winning position here. How did it end with a draw?
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Is my low blitz game drawing rate at www.chess.com an indicator that I am weak in chess?
I have played 630 blitz game at chess.com and only 10.3% of my games are draw; see the diagram.
When I play black, my drawing rate is slightly higher than my drawing rate playing white. This is ...
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Is this endgame a draw?
I reached this position in a game. I don't think either side can force a win?
White to move.
[FEN "8/pB6/P7/4pK2/3b1p2/5P2/3k4/8 w - - 0 1"]
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Lichess endgame evaluation
Why is it that Lichess, and other engines for that matter, give a non-zero evaluation score on an endgame position that should be either a draw or a win for one of the sides (given perfect play)? For ...
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