How does stalemate work in chess

What will you do, now that you are on the verge of extinction, like the dinosaurs or giant sloths? The King escapes. Now… check him again. And he escapes. And check him again. This might be repetitive, but it is keeping the asteroid from wiping out your species. Your opponent is annoyed with you, but what are you going to do, just let them win? Do this 3 times in a row, and the rules of chess say it is a tie game. Stalemate can be a source of a lot of frustration, but it can also be your saving grace.

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. The queen , being such a potent attacker, can quickly force a win against a lonely enemy king.

If the player is not careful, though, it can also leave no legal moves for the opponent and cause a draw. Throughout chess history, many great players have used stalemate in their favor to save lost positions.

It is a great idea to keep in mind because sometimes you can use it to prevent losing a game or even to stop your opponent from doing so. Confronting two connected and passed pawns , Nimzowitsch decided to go for a draw. In fact, a Stalemate happens when there are no legal moves, just like Checkmate. Some players might use the rule of Stalemate in order to end the game in a Draw instead of losing if they have insufficient pieces to win and are in an inferior position to the other player.

For example, a player that is luck of pieces, he might try to create a Stalemate in order to not lose the game, but end it with a Draw. Black has no legal moves, and yet must make a move! This is the definition of a stalemate. Trying to trick your opponent into a stalemate is a valid strategy when you're far behind on pieces.

Running into the corner, or getting behind an opponent's pawn are some ways you can cause a stalemate if your opponent isn't careful. To avoid a stalemate, always make sure your opponent has somewhere to move before you block them in too much! To learn more about stalemate, check out our in depth lesson on stalemate here! What is Stalemate?