Stalemate is one of the drawing rules of chess. It happens when the player who has to move has no legal moves available The game then ends immediately in a tie, and each player is awarded half a point. The diagram below shows a stalemate that frequently occurs for beginner players. What have you learned about how chess games end? Checkmate is the goal, but do you know how to spot a stalemate? Here are three important details every schol.
Stalemate Rules, Fifty Move Rule:
Part of the Chess Endgame Guide (Section 2: Stalemate)
Stalemate
- Fifty Move Rule -
Their game was a proper epic, which actually took in a whopping 115 Moves ... and, appropriate for this topic, ended in a Draw.
While they chose not to end it by completing the 50 Move Rule, for this example, I've added what might have been made, to implement that Rule. This long, drawn out, 50 Move saga probably explains why Stalemate by the Three-time Repetition Rule was devised: you still get a Draw - a Stalemate - but you now have time to nip to the vending machine for another coffee.
PGN
[Event 'Stalemate, 50 Move Rule']
[Site '?']
[Date '????.??.??']
[Round '?']
[White '?']
[Black '?']
[Result '1/2-1/2']
[FEN '8/8/2B2k2/8/3r1NKp/3N4/8/8 b - - 0 1']
[PlyCount '103']
1...Rd8 2. Kxh4 Rg8 3. Be4 Rg1 4. Nh5+ Ke6 5. Ng3 Kf6 6. Kg4 Ra1 7. Bd5 Ra5 8. Bf3 Ra1 9. Kf4 Ke6 10. Nc5+ Kd6 11. Nge4+ Ke7 12. Ke5 Rf1 13. Bg4 Rg1 14. Be6 Re1 15. Bc8 Rc1 16. Kd4 Rd1+ 17. Nd3 Kf7 18. Ke3 Ra1 19. Kf4 Ke7 20. Nb4 Rc1 21. Nd5+ Kf7 22. Bd7 Rf1+ 23. Ke5 Ra1 24. Ng5+ Kg6 25. Nf3 Kg7 26. Bg4 Kg6 27. Nf4+ Kg7 28. Nd4 Re1+ 29. Kf5 Rc1 30. Be2 Re1 31. Bh5 Ra1 32. Nfe6+ Kh6 33. Be8 Ra8 34. Bc6 Ra1 35. Kf6 Kh7 36. Ng5+ Kh8 37. Nde6 Ra6 38. Be8 Ra8 39. Bh5 Ra1 40. Bg6 Rf1+ 41. Ke7 Ra1 42. Nf7+ Kg8 43. Nh6+ Kh8 44. Nf5 Ra7+ 45. Kf6 Ra1 46. Ne3 Re1 47. Nd5 Rg1 48. Bf5 Rf1 49. Ndf4 Ra1 50. Ng6+ Kg8 51. Ne7+ Kh8 52. Ng6+ Kg8 1/2-1/2
This is one of the first Rules people hear about, concerning how games of Chess are Drawn.
Basically, the Fifty-move Rule states that: '... a player can claim a Draw if no capture has been made and no Pawn has been moved in the last fifty consecutive moves (fifty moves by each side).'
If that player can reach the 50th move, with his King having evaded Checkmate throughout, what could have been a Loss will result in a Draw and, effectively, ½ a point salvaged, as a result.
Moving On:Stalemate: Three-time Repetition of Position (Page 3).
Game Pigeon Chess
Pigeon On A Chess Board
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