Questions tagged [stalemate]
A chess game is said to end in stalemate when the player to move has no legal move and his king is not in check.
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Proving the fastest way for stalemate
I know that Sam Loydfound the 9.5 move stalemate, but how can we prove that his way of reaching stalemate is the fastest?
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USCF rule for wrongly agreeing to stalemate? [duplicate]
In a USCF tournament game, after I moved and hit my clock, my opponent said "Is that stalemate?", reaching out his hand to shake on the result. I said "I think so," and shook his ...
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Would a stalemate declared a win be theoretically equivalent to this larger board chess variant?
Most drawn endgames where one side is stronger than the other (e.g. has an extra pawn) are drawn because the weaker king can force being stalemated on the rim if the stronger side avoids a repetition.
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Can a stalemate be forced even if it is the opponent's turn to move first?
Here are examples in which the side that desires a stalemate can force a stalemate, provided it is their turn to move.
Are there positions where the side which desires a stalemate does not presently ...
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In the endgame, black had only two blocked pawns. It is his turn. Is it stalemate or must he move his king?
In the endgame, Black had only two blocked pawns. It is his turn. Is it stalemate or must he move his king?
My opponent claimed that the king cannot move if all other remaining pieces are blocked.
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Fastest stalemate in Duck Chess
Seeing the meteoric rise in popularity of Duck Chess (full rules), I'd like to ask how to stalemate the fastest (from the starting position) in this variant, because the stalemated player wins here.
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Is there a position where the weaker side can force stalemating the stronger side?
Usually, the (materially) stronger side stalemates the materially weaker side. Is there a position where the weaker side can forcibly stalemate the stronger side?
The only position I know where this ...
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How can I avoid stalemate in this position?
I am very much a beginner to chess and have been clueless in my past matches. I feel like I'm either making a move just to protect any of my pieces at that moment or make a move to simply knock my ...
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Stalemate situation with all pieces on the board
Suppose all the pieces are on the board. Does there exist a position such that
A) one of the players can't make any move (a stalemate)?
B) neither player can make any move (a double stalemate)?
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Puzzle: Forced game end in at most two halfmoves
Compose a position where
It's White to move
White can deliver checkmate or stalemate in 1 move
Or if they make a different move, then Black can deliver checkmate or stalemate in one 1 move
I needed ...
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A special "dead" position
Construct a position which forcibly leads to White or Black being stalemated (and both events are actually possible), meaning that the position is already dead. Further (or it would be too easy) all ...
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Duplex forced selfstalemate
Ludwig Zagler, Chess Ultimates 12/1974
[FEN "3nBb2/3PRP2/2ppPPpp/2nk2pb/2p2QN1/1r1rBKP1/7q/8 w - - 0 0"]
self=1, 7 solutions
This is the record (7 variants) for forced single side ...
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Two seriesmover stalemate constructions
Easy one: Starting position, but Black never moves. White makes n moves (no checking!) until Black is stalemated. Minimize n. Hint: You don't need to capture all Black pieces, pawns can also be ...
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What will happen if you have a position where no one can lose?
What will happen if you have a position where no one can lose?
[fen "5k2/8/1p1p1p2/pBpP1Pp1/P1PpK1P1/1P1Pb3/8/8 b - - 0 1"]
Here is my game, I know it is live960 but I was wondering the ...
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What is the shortest 1:16 mutual stalemate with the White king at home?
In this ancient r/chess thread, several users explored the shortest possible 1:16 mutual stalemate. StoofBuzze provided a record in 42.5 moves. However, what is the shortest such game in which the ...
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An Interesting Idea: Pinned Pieces Stalemate
I had an idea for a type of stalemate: One side is stalemated with 8 pins in a legal position with as many pieces as possible, with all of the stalemating side’s units being “necessary.”
”Necessary” ...
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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 constitutes a draw?
I know what makes a game a stalemate, and I know that stalemate is 1/2 point to everyone, and I assume draw is the same, but can there be a draw without a stalemate?
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Why go for stalemate here?
In a Daily Puzzle of the Chess.com app, playing as white the solution to the puzzle was as follows:
[Title ""]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/p1Q3bk/P2N2p1/5p1p/7P/6q1/8/7K w - - 0 1&...
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Can White avoid a loss in this endgame study by Lazar?
This is the position with White to move. This was created by Lazar in 1935 according to Susan Polgar in a Chess Daily News article from 5/27/2008.
[FEN "8/3P4/3b4/8/8/1p2k2p/1Pp4P/2K5 w - - 0 1&...
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Would there be more decisive games if we began to see stalemates as checkmates? And hence more "interesting" chess? [closed]
I think it is up for debate as to whether a stalemate should be a win or a draw. I agree stalemates make beginner chess more interesting but we rarely see games at international level end in stalemate....
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Mutual Stalemate
You are required to find position such that:
1) Any move made by White or Black leads to stalemate for both sides immediately.
2) The position can be reached from the starting position of a chess ...
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Shortest stalemate in serious tournament game
I am looking for the shortest stalemate that has occurred in a serious chess game (there were no agreements between the players). So far, I have found only compositions, but is there a real game where ...
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What is the record for the most stalemates in one?
Is there a known record for the most possible stalemates in one in a legal position, for with and without promoted pieces? I did some constructing myself for a start.
For without promoted pieces, I ...
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What is the longest known stalemate your opponent in x-moves problem?
What is the longest known stalemate your opponent in x-moves problem where the given stalemate is the fastest one from the initial position? A win is not possible, but stalemating your opponent so ...
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What is the quickest way to reach a mutual, symmetrical stalemate?
What is the fastest known game that ends that in a mutual stalemate position that is symmetrical?
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Is it possible to have a double self-smothered stalemate?
I came up with this rather amusing and bizarre stalemate where Black stalemates itself by self-smothering.
[FEN "8/8/8/8/8/3p4/pp6/krb1K3 b - - 0 1"]
1...d2+?? 2. Kd1
The peculiar feature of ...
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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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Instead of giving checkmate, I gave stalemate. Why?
I am a beginner, and I have just discovered this annoying stalemate. I got the definition but while playing, I ended up with a stalemate and I don't know why. Could you explain it to me?
[FEN "8/...
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Can someone tell me if this is a checkmate or stalemate?
[FEN "5rk/Q1p2p1p/4p1p/2Pq2b/3P2n/4P1Pb/PP1B1P1P/R2R2K w - - 0 1"]
Apparently, the system says that it's checkmate, but I don't get it. Can someone please explain it?
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Situations of underpromoting the pawn
I recently came across a wonderful article on Chess.com about under promotion of pawns. One of the situations is here:
[FEN "8/8/1KP5/3r4/8/8/8/k7 w - - 0 1"]
[Date "1895.??.??"]
[White "Saavedra, ...
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Can the king step into stalemate?
Is it possible that the king can move to a square, and the opponent can move, but no matter where it is a stalemate? If it is impossible, how do you prove that?
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What is the fastest possible stalemate by castling?
It is known what the fastest stalemate is. But what but is the fastest possible stalemate in which castling must be the last move?
33 plies is my best result so far.
[FEN ""]
1. e4 h5 2. ...
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Is it possible to resign in stalemate?
Say that two players, likely lower rated, are playing a rated tournament over-the-board game. Player A has a winning position, and then blunders a move and stalemates. Player B, misunderstanding the ...
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Is it technically a checkmate if the king is not in check, but all moves will result in check?
In other words, after white's move, black king is not in check. It is now black's move, but any move that black could make results in check. Is this a checkmate? Is there a chess term for this ...
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What is the order of actions in chess under FIDE rules?
Reading some recent posts about the 50 move rule made me realize that I've never seen an explicit order of actions for chess. By way of comparison, the order of actions in Monopoly is given here:
(1) ...
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Stalemate or checkmate?
I have a rook, a queen and my king while my opponent has only 2 pawns and a king left.
The situation is complicated because they cannot move anything, except for a single pawn move. But if they move ...
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Why was this stalemate?
I'm new to chess and I don't have much knowledge. But I was playing a game as Black, and I was up by a lot of material and played Nxc4 to capture White's last bishop. The game ended in a stalemate, ...
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What is the fastest way to reach a position in which one side is forced to choose between checkmate and stalemate?
I had an interesting idea recently. While there are many proof games ending in checkmate or stalemate, why not both, I thought. So, thus I wondered, what is the fastest way to reach a position in ...
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Can you move from one side being checked to other side in stalemate?
I am not a chess player but I have a homework where I have to code a chess program. I would like to know if it is possible for a player's piece to be in check, the player to move out of check, and in ...
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When en passant is the only legal move
Consider the following position:
8/7p/5K1k/8/7p/7P/5PP1/8 w - - 0 1
1. g4 hxg3
In the above postion, White plays g2-g4. The only legal move is hxg3, en passant. I heard someone say that since the en ...
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What rearrangent of the starting position's pieces, in any manner, has the fastest stalemate?
It is well known that the fastest stalemate is in 19 ply. But what is the fastest possible if all pieces, not pawns, may be shuffled at will on their first ranks? This will be difficult since there is ...
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When exactly does a checkmate or stalemate take effect?
I'm not enthusiastic about chess in particular, so if I use terminology incorrectly please correct me. I use "phase 1 & phase 2" for each player's move, and "turn n" for each pair of phases.
I'm ...
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Games won by the stalemated player?
Here is a quote from Davidson's "A short history of chess" (Link), chapter 8, which I used in an answer to an earlier question.
[...] In Italy, however, from the very beginning, players ...
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How many queens can be on the board without neither forced mate nor forced stalemate (53?)?
I was wondering how many queens can be put on boards without the position being a forced checkmate or a forced stalemate. The best I came up with is 53 this position.
[FEN "QQQQQRK1/QQQQQPr1/...
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Complete game Troitzky-Vogt?
The Wikipedia on stalemate shows a position where Vogt became victim of a diabolic stalemate trap set by Troitzky.
[Title "Troitzky-Vogt"]
[FEN "2kr4/1ppb1pp1/1b4r1/pP2p3/P3P3/5qN1/2Q2P1P/2R1B1KR w - ...
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Looking for the complete game Sibilio-Mariotti, Ravenna 1982
Tim Krabbe shows this game on his record site.
[Title "Sibilio-Mariotti, Ravenna 1982"]
[FEN "5k2/1p4pp/4p3/3pP1q1/3P4/7K/7P/8 w - - 0 1"]
The game has a stalemate after only 27 moves. I would like ...
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Stalemate v/s Checkmate
I am unable to understand why Photo 1 a stalemate and Photo 2 a checkmate.
PHOTO 1
PHOTO 2
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Why is this position stalemate? I'm new to chess
Why is this position stalemate? I'm new to chess and I played white.
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Endgame problem: How to avoid stalemate and win?
I'm stuck on this problem a friend shared with me recently, with barely any pieces left and apparently white is able to force a win but I've been hitting a wall with everything I've tried so far, as ...
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