14
votes
Accepted
What will happen if you have a position where no one can lose?
I was wondering the outcome for a standard format chess game will it be draw because no one can win.
According to the FIDE Laws of Chess:
5.2.2 The game is drawn when a position has arisen in which ...
- 94.5k
14
votes
Accepted
Does 'dead position' consider the 75 moves rule?
In section 3.10.1, the laws define what legal moves are:
3.10.1 A move is legal when all the relevant requirements of Articles 3.1 – 3.9 have been fulfilled.
The mentioned sections 3.1 to 3.9 only ...
- 156
12
votes
Is the dead position problem solvable?
Computer detection of dead positions is much trickier than people think. It is unlikely that an algorithm exists that runs in reasonable time and is 100% accurate.
It is easy to check for a simple ...
- 4,980
11
votes
Accepted
A special "dead" position
I am not sure if this is exactly what you are asking for, but here is a try.
[FEN "8/8/8/2p1p1p1/2P1PkP1/4Q1RB/3PPpPp/3n1Kbr b - - 0 1"]
[startflipped ""]
1... Nxe3+ 2.dxe3+ {2....
- 15.8k
11
votes
Accepted
Why does this game not end as a draw by insufficient material?
Why this game does not end immediately as a draw by insufficient material?
Two reasons.
There is no rule regarding ‘insufficient material’. What there is is a draw due to a ‘dead position’. This is ...
- 94.5k
11
votes
Accepted
Maximum number of pieces on board in dead position
Funny task. I think I'm still pretty far from the maximum, but here is a suggestion with
23 men:
[Event "?"]
[title "Challenge 3, 23 units"]
[FEN "NRN1k1bn/QRKpPp2/PPpP1Pp1/2P3Pp/7P/8/7B/8 w - - 0 ...
- 15.8k
11
votes
Maximum number of pieces on board in dead position
I've come up with 23, in the following position, with promotions:
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[FEN "nb2k3/2p5/1pP5/1Pp5/2P1p1p1/3pPpPp/...
- 4,187
11
votes
Accepted
When checkmate is impossible in a position
What you're asking goes by the name of "Dead Reckoning" in the domain of problems and retro problems.
(1) There isn't an algorithm I know of except the one mentioned by zaifrun: brute force. The ...
- 4,980
10
votes
Accepted
What happens if me and my opponent only have kings?
Since you can't move your king into check, you can't legally check the other king.
The Laws of Chess, section 5.2b, states that:
The game is drawn when a position has arisen in which neither ...
- 216
8
votes
Accepted
Longest "death certificate"
Here is such a position.
[FEN "1k6/p1p1p1p1/P1P1P1P1/8/8/8/PKP1P1P1/8 b - - 0 1"]
[startlfipped ""]
With Black to move, no side can make any progress. White still has plenty of ...
- 5,975
8
votes
Maximum number of pieces on board in dead position
The three dead position challenges are (1) general (2) no finite mandatory stalemate (3) definitely no stalemate possible ever. (3)=>(2)=>(1).
Retro enthusiasts often sub-divide Task Records into 3 ...
- 11k
7
votes
Is the dead position problem solvable?
Miguel Ambrona’s CHA solver “Chess Unwinnability Analyzer” (GitHub repo, white paper) is an efficient solution to this problem. It uses an incomplete algorithm to analyse positions and determine ...
- 171
6
votes
Automatic draw rules
Yes, since it is not possible to produce a checkmate in these circumstances.
See also the FIDE rules:
1.3 If the position is such that neither player can possibly checkmate the opponent’s king, the ...
- 3,796
6
votes
How long can a player hold off a draw by the 50-move rule?
The answer is trivially the starting position -
[fen ""]
This exact question hasn't been asked before (I think) but it has been answered here. Here is the relevant part of that answer -
...
- 94.5k
4
votes
Is the dead position problem solvable?
I would expect that it is a good bit easier to write a program that is good at detecting dead positions than to write a program that plays chess well.
A simple strategy may be to play out a large ...
- 762
4
votes
Accepted
How long can a player hold off a draw by the 50-move rule?
I interpret the following
White will play as long as possible, and not want to lose. Black will claim a draw as soon as possible, if not win
as meaning that Black does not help (i.e., Black tries to ...
- 871
4
votes
Why does this game not end as a draw by insufficient material?
A bit late, but Miguel Ambrona recently developed an algorithm to assess whether a given position is a draw, or loss on timeout, under FIDE rules—in short, whether a checkmate is at all possible. ...
- 141
4
votes
Does 'dead position' consider the 75 moves rule?
First, there are positions where white can force a mate but with perfect defense by black it takes more than 75 moves to do (Ant referenced this reddit post) and that do not involve captures or pawn ...
- 255
4
votes
Does 'dead position' consider the 75 moves rule?
My feeling is that it should consider the 75 move rule. The current wording strictly speaking doesn't say that, as benediktwerner's answer explains (considering it only mentions "legal moves"...
- 27.7k
3
votes
A question about draw detection in chess engines
I actually did the experiment and will answer now. Three main factors go into the evaluation (as king safety doesn't play the slightest role): material, space, and movability.
The effect of space is ...
- 15.4k
3
votes
A special "dead" position
Example showing why the checking condition is needed to make this an interesting puzzle:
[FEN "k7/Pp4p1/1P6/8/8/6p1/1P4Pp/7K w KQkq - 0 1"]
Whoever moves, the game soon ends in stalemate,
...
- 6,524
3
votes
A special "dead" position
Since Evergalo asked, I also post a solution, where neither side is in check at the start. Problem chess etiquette says that everything that the composer does not rule out explicitly isn't cheating - ...
- 15.4k
3
votes
A position in which there is no possible checkmate
I think that is limited to just a few positions.
A lone king vs. king.
king and bishop vs. king.
A king and bishop vs. king and same colored bishop as the other side.
A king and multiple bishops of ...
- 32.4k
3
votes
What happens if me and my opponent only have kings?
When you only have Kings then you can take a tour of the entire board till the end of the World without any hesitation . :-) (Just Joking ) .
The Game at this point is a DRAW . Since neither Player ...
- 1,993
2
votes
What is sufficient mating material?
AFAIK sufficient mating material is considered as such if a "helpmate" can be demonstrated in any number of moves. Put another way, it is as if the player that ran out of time is out of the game, and ...
- 121
2
votes
Automatic draw rules
Yes, in these two cases there is insufficient mating material and the game will always end in a draw.
- 19.2k
2
votes
When checkmate is impossible in a position
Update on the comment by usul.
The algorithm is now described here:
https://chasolver.org/FUN22-full.pdf
It combines a search of variations with a dedicated mechanism for identifying blocked positions ...
- 164
2
votes
A special "dead" position
I think I have found a position meeting all the requirements, where White, on move, is not in check. Moreover, White can play a non-checking move.
Legal position, 13 units, no promoted pieces.
White: ...
- 15.8k
2
votes
Has a position being a draw under FIDE 5.2.b before a forced recapture ever come up in a tournament?
Software which can answer this question now exists, but has not yet been applied to FIDE-rated tournaments.
Miguel Ambrona (see https://chasolver.org/FUN22-full.pdf, presented at a conference in ...
- 11k
1
vote
What is "mating potential" in the FIDE Arbiter's Manual meant to mean?
As far as I can see, categories (a) & (b) are the same. Reading 1.5 & 5.2.2, which are not complicated, the given example KvK obviously is a dead position.
Maybe the intention is to ...
- 11k
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