Stalemate is a situation in the game of
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
where the player whose turn it is to move is not in
check and has no legal move. Stalemate results in a
draw. During the
endgame, stalemate is a resource that can enable the player with the inferior position to draw the game rather than lose. In more complex positions, stalemate is much rarer, usually taking the form of a
swindle that succeeds only if the superior side is inattentive. Stalemate is also a common theme in
endgame studies
In the game of chess, an endgame study, or just study, is a composed position—that is, one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find the essentially uniq ...
and other
chess problems.
The outcome of a stalemate was
standardized as a draw in the 19th century. Before this standardization, its treatment varied widely, including being deemed a win for the stalemating player, a half-win for that player, or a loss for that player; not being permitted; and resulting in the stalemated player missing a turn. Stalemate rules vary in other
games of the chess family.
Etymology and usage
The first recorded use of stalemate is from 1765. It is a compounding of
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old Englis ...
stale and
mate (meaning
checkmate).
Stale is probably derived from Anglo-French ''estale'' meaning "standstill", a
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical ef ...
of "stand" and "stall", both ultimately derived from the
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo ...
root ''*sta-''. The first recorded use in a figurative sense is in 1885.
Stalemate has become a widely used
metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...
for other situations where there is a conflict or contest between two parties, such as war or
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...
negotiations, and neither side is able to achieve victory, resulting in what is also called an
impasse, a
deadlock, or a
Mexican standoff. Chess writers note that this usage is a
misnomer
A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the name ...
because, unlike in chess, the situation is often a temporary one that is ultimately resolved, even if it seems currently intractable.
The term "stalemate" is sometimes used incorrectly as a generic term for a draw in chess. While
draws are common, they are rarely the direct result of stalemate.
Examples
With Black to move, Black is stalemated in diagrams 1 to 4. Stalemate is an important factor in the
endgame – the endgame setup in diagram 1, for example, quite frequently is relevant in play (see
King and pawn versus king endgame). The position in diagram 1 occurred in an 1898 game between
Amos Burn and
Harry Pillsbury and also in a 1925 game between
Savielly Tartakower and
Richard Réti
Richard Selig Réti (28 May 1889 – 6 June 1929) was an Austro-Hungarian, later Czechoslovakian, chess player, chess author, and composer of endgame studies.
He was one of the principal proponents of hypermodernism in chess. With the ex ...
. The same position, except shifted to the e-, occurred in a 2009 game between
Gata Kamsky and
Vladimir Kramnik.
The position in diagram 3 is an example of a
pawn drawing against a
queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
. Stalemates of this sort can often save a player from losing an apparently hopeless position (see
Queen versus pawn endgame).
Examples from games
Anand versus Kramnik
In this position from the game
Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have ...
–
Vladimir Kramnik from the
2007 World Chess Championship, Black played 65...Kxf5, stalemating White. (Any other move by Black loses.)
Korchnoi versus Karpov
An intentional stalemate occurred on the 124th move of the fifth game of the
1978 World Championship match between
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ( rus, Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, p=vʲiktər lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. H ...
and
Anatoly Karpov. The game had been a theoretical draw for many moves. White's bishop is useless; it
cannot defend the queening square at a8 nor attack the black pawn on the light a4-square. If the white king heads towards the black pawn, the black king can move towards a8 and set up a
fortress
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
.
The players were not on speaking terms, however, so neither would offer a
draw by agreement
A game of chess can end in a draw by agreement. A player may offer a draw at any stage of a game; if the opponent accepts, the game is a draw. In some competitions, draws by agreement are restricted; for example draw offers may be subject to the ...
. On his 124th move, White played 124.Bg7, delivering stalemate. Korchnoi said that it gave him pleasure to stalemate Karpov and that it was slightly humiliating. Until 2021, this was the longest game played in a
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013.
The first event recognized as a world championship was the 1886 matc ...
final match, as well as the only World Championship game to end in stalemate before 2007.
Bernstein versus Smyslov
Sometimes, a surprise stalemate saves a game. In the game between
Ossip Bernstein
Ossip Samoilovich Bernstein (20 September 1882 – 30 November 1962) was a Russian-French chess player and businessman. He was one of the inaugural recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950.
Biography
Born in Zhytomyr, ...
–
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov ( rus, Васи́лий Васи́льевич Смысло́в, Vasíliy Vasíl'yevich Smyslóv; 24 March 1921 – 27 March 2010) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, who was World Chess Champion from 1957 t ...
(see first diagram), Black can win by sacrificing the f-pawn and using the king to support the b-pawn. However, Smyslov thought it was good to advance the b-pawn because he could win the white rook with a
skewer
A skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. The word may sometimes be used as a metonym, to refer to the entire food item served on a skewer, as in "chicken skewers". Skewers are used while grilling or roasting ...
if it captured the pawn. Play went:
:1... b2 2. Rxb2
Now 2...Rh2+ 3.Kf3! Rxb2 is stalemate (see analysis diagram). Smyslov played 2...Kg4, and the game was drawn after 3.Kf1 (see
Rook and pawn versus rook endgame
The rook and pawn versus rook endgame is a fundamentally important, widely studied chess endgame. Precise play is usually required in these positions. With optimal play, some complicated wins require sixty moves to either checkmate, capture the ...
).
Matulović versus Minev
Whereas the possibility of stalemate arose in the Bernstein–Smyslov game because of a
blunder
A blunder refers to a "stupid, careless mistake". Specific instances include:
* Blunder (chess), a very poor move in chess
* Hopetoun Blunder, an event in Australian history
* Brand blunder, in marketing
* Draft blunder, in American sports
* Himal ...
, it can also arise without one, as in the game
Milan Matulović
Milan Matulović (10 June 1935 – 9 October 2013) was a chess grandmaster who was the second or third strongest Yugoslav player for much of the 1960s and 1970s behind Svetozar Gligorić and possibly Borislav Ivkov. He was primarily active befo ...
–
Nikolay Minev
Nikolay (or Nikolai) Nikolaev Minev ( bg, Николай Николаев Минев, 8 November 1931 – 10 March 2017) was a Bulgarian chess International Master (IM) and noted chess author.
Minev was born on 8 November 1931, in Rousse, Bulgari ...
(see first diagram). Play continued:
:1. Rc6 Kg5 2. Kh3 Kh5 3. f4
The only meaningful attempt to make progress. Now all moves by Black (like 3...Ra3+) lose, with one exception.
: 3... Rxa6!
Now 4.Rxa6 would be stalemate. White played 4.Rc5+ instead, and the game was drawn several moves later.
Williams versus Harrwitz
In the game
Elijah Williams–
Daniel Harrwitz
Daniel Harrwitz (22 February 1821 – 2 January 1884) was a German chess master.
Harrwitz was born in Breslau (Wrocław) in the Prussian Province of Silesia. Harrwitz's correct birth and death dates (22 February 1821 and 2 January 1884 respectiv ...
(see first diagram), Black was up a
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
and a pawn in an endgame. This would normally be a decisive advantage, but Black could find no way to make progress because of various stalemate resources available to White. The game continued:
:72... Ra8 73. Rc1
Avoiding the threatened 73...Nc2+.
:73... Ke3 74. Rc4 Ra4 75. Rc1 Kd2 76. Rc4 Kd3
76...Nc2+ 77.Rxc2+! Kxc2 is stalemate.
:77. Rc3+! Kd4
77...Kxc3 is stalemate.
:78. Rc1 Ra3 79. Rd1+ Kc5
79...Rd3 80.Rxd3+! leaves Black with either insufficient material to win after 80...Nxd3 81.Kxa2 or a standard
fortress in a corner draw after 80...Kxd3.
:80. Rc1+ Kb5 81. Rc7 Nd5 82. Rc2 Nc3?? 83. Rb2+ Kc4 84. Rb3! (second diagram)
Now the players
agreed to a draw, since 84...Kxb3 or 84...Rxb3 is stalemate, as is 84...Ra8 85.Rxc3+! Kxc3.
Black could still have won the game until his critical mistake on move 82. Instead of 82...Nc3, 82...Nb4 wins; for example, after 83.Rc8 Re3 84.Rb8+ Kc5 85.Rc8+ Kd5 86.Rd8+ Kc6 87.Ra8 Re1+ 88.Kb2 Kc5 89.Kc3 a1=Q+, Black wins.
Carlsen versus Van Wely
This 2007 game,
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has h ...
–
Loek van Wely
Loek van Wely (born 7 October 1972) is a Dutch chess player and politician. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1993, and was rated among the world's top ten in 2001 with a rating of 2714. In March 2019, he was elected to the Dutch ...
, ended in stalemate. White used the second-rank defense in a
rook and bishop versus rook endgame
The rook and bishop versus rook endgame is a chess endgame where one player has just a king, a rook, and a bishop, and the other player has just a king and a rook. This combination of is one of the most common pawnless chess endgames. It is gene ...
for 46 moves. The
fifty-move rule
The fifty-move rule in chess states that a player can claim a draw if no has been made and no pawn has been moved in the last fifty moves (for this purpose a "move" consists of a player completing a turn followed by the opponent completing a tur ...
was about to come into effect, under which White could claim a draw. The game ended:
:109. Rd2+ Bxd2
White was stalemated.
More complex examples
Although stalemate usually occurs in the endgame, it can also occur with more pieces on the board. Outside of relatively simple endgame positions, such as those above, stalemate occurs rarely, usually when the side with the superior position has overlooked the possibility of stalemate. This is typically realized by the inferior side's sacrifice of one or more pieces in order to force stalemate. A piece that is offered as a sacrifice to bring about stalemate is sometimes called a
desperado
Desperado may refer to:
* Outlaw, particularly in the American Old West
Books
* ''Desperadoes'' (comics), a comic book series
* ''Desperadoes'' (novel), a 1979 novel by Ron Hansen
* Desperado Publishing, an American independent comic book publi ...
.
Evans versus Reshevsky
One of the best-known examples of the
desperado
Desperado may refer to:
* Outlaw, particularly in the American Old West
Books
* ''Desperadoes'' (comics), a comic book series
* ''Desperadoes'' (novel), a 1979 novel by Ron Hansen
* Desperado Publishing, an American independent comic book publi ...
is the game
Larry Evans–
Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel Herman Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski; November 26, 1911 – April 4, 1992) was a Polish chess prodigy and later a leading American chess grandmaster. He was a contender for the World Chess Championship from the mid-1930s to the mid-196 ...
that was dubbed "The
Swindle of the Century". Evans sacrificed his queen on move 49 and offered his rook on move 50. White's rook has been called the
eternal rook. Capturing it results in stalemate, but otherwise it stays on the seventh and checks Black's king ''
ad infinitum
''Ad infinitum'' is a Latin phrase meaning "to infinity" or "forevermore".
Description
In context, it usually means "continue forever, without limit" and this can be used to describe a non-terminating process, a non-terminating ''repeating'' pr ...
'' (i.e.
perpetual check
In the game of chess, perpetual check is a situation in which one player can a draw by an unending series of checks. This typically arises when the player who is checking cannot deliver checkmate, and failing to continue the series of checks give ...
). The game would inevitably end in a
draw by agreement
A game of chess can end in a draw by agreement. A player may offer a draw at any stage of a game; if the opponent accepts, the game is a draw. In some competitions, draws by agreement are restricted; for example draw offers may be subject to the ...
, by
threefold repetition
In chess, the threefold repetition rule states that a player may claim a draw if the same position occurs three times during the game. The rule is also known as repetition of position and, in the USCF rules, as triple occurrence of position.Articl ...
, or by an eventual claim under the
fifty-move rule
The fifty-move rule in chess states that a player can claim a draw if no has been made and no pawn has been moved in the last fifty moves (for this purpose a "move" consists of a player completing a turn followed by the opponent completing a tur ...
.
:47. h4! Re2+ 48. Kh1 Qxg3??
After 48...Qg6! 49.Rf8 Qe6! 50.Rh8+ Kg6, Black remains a piece ahead after 51.Qxe6 Nxe6, or after 51.gxf4 Re1+ and 52...Qa2+.
:49. Qg8+! Kxg8 50. Rxg7+!
Gelfand versus Kramnik
The position at right occurred in
Boris Gelfand
Boris Gelfand ( he, בוריס אברמוביץ' גלפנד; be, Барыс Абрамавіч Гельфанд, Barys Abramavich Hel'fand; russian: Борис Абрамович Гельфанд, Boris Abramovich Gel'fand; born 24 June 1968) ...
–
Vladimir Kramnik, 1994
FIDE
The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...
Candidates match, game 6, in
Sanghi Nagar
The Sangh Parivar (translation: "Family of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh" or the "RSS family") refers, as an umbrella term, to the collection of Hindu nationalist organisations spawned by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which rem ...
, India. Kramnik, down two pawns and on the defensive, would be very happy with a draw. Gelfand has just played 67. Re4–e7 (see first diagram), a strong-looking move that threatens 68.Qxf6, winning a third pawn, or 68.Rc7, further constricting Black. Black responded 67... Qc1 If White takes Black's undefended
rook with 68.Qxd8, Black's desperado queen forces the draw with 68...Qh1+ 69.Kg3 Qh2+!, compelling 70.Kxh2 stalemate (second diagram). If White avoids the stalemate with 68.Rxg7+ Kxg7 69.Qxd8, Black draws by
perpetual check
In the game of chess, perpetual check is a situation in which one player can a draw by an unending series of checks. This typically arises when the player who is checking cannot deliver checkmate, and failing to continue the series of checks give ...
with 69...Qh1+ 70.Kg3 Qg1+ 71.Kf4 Qc1+! 72.Ke4 Qc6+! 73.Kd3 (73.d5 Qc4+; 73.Qd5 Qc2+) Qxf3+! 74.Kd2 Qg2+! 75.Kc3 Qc6+ 76.Kb4 Qb5+ 77.Ka3 Qd3+. Gelfand played 68. d5 instead but still only drew.
Troitsky versus Vogt
In
Troitsky–, 1896, the famous
endgame study
In the game of chess, an endgame study, or just study, is a composed position—that is, one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find the essentially uniq ...
composer Alexey Troitsky pulled off an elegant swindle in actual play. After Troitsky's 1. Rd1!, Black fell into the trap with the seemingly crushing 1... Bh3?, threatening 2...Qg2#. The game concluded 2. Rxd8+ Kxd8 3. Qd1+! Qxd1 stalemate. White's bishop, knight, and f-pawn are all and unable to move.
In studies
Stalemate is a frequent theme in
endgame studies
In the game of chess, an endgame study, or just study, is a composed position—that is, one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find the essentially uniq ...
and other
chess composition
A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by the composer using chess pieces on a chess board, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White is to ...
s. An example is the "White to Play and Draw" study at right, composed by the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
Frederick Rhine and published in 2006. White saves a draw with 1. Ne5+! Black wins after 1.Nb4+? Kb5! or 1.Qe8+? Bxe8 2.Ne5+ Kb5! 3.Rxb2+ Nb3. 1... Bxe5 After 1...Kb5? 2.Rxb2+ Nb3 3.Rxc4! Qxe3 (best; 3...Qb8+ 4.Kd7 Qxh8 5.Rxb3+ forces
checkmate) 4.Rxb3+! Qxb3 5.Qh1! Bf5+ 6.Kd8!, White is winning. 2. Qe8+! 2.Qxe5? Qb7+ 3.Kd8 Qd7#. 2... Bxe8 3. Rh6+ Bd6 3...Kb5 4.Rxb6+ Kxb6 5.Nxc4+ also leads to a drawn endgame. Not 5.Rxb2+? Bxb2 6.Nc4+ Kb5 7.Nxb2 Bh5! trapping White's knight. 4. Rxd6+! Kxd6 5. Nxc4+! Nxc4 6. Rxb6+ Nxb6+ Moving the king is actually a better try, but the resulting endgame of two knights and a bishop against a rook is a well-established theoretical draw. 7. Kd8! (rightmost diagram) Black is three pieces ahead, but if White is allowed to take the bishop, the
two knights are insufficient to force checkmate. The only way to save the bishop is to move it, resulting in stalemate. A similar idea occasionally enables the inferior side to save a draw in the ending of
bishop, knight, and king versus lone king.
At right is a composition by
A. J. Roycroft which was published in the ''
British Chess Magazine
''British Chess Magazine'' is the world's oldest chess journal in continuous publication. First published in January 1881, it has appeared at monthly intervals ever since. It is frequently known in the chess world as ''BCM''.
The founder an ...
'' in 1957. White draws with 1. c7! after which there are two main lines:
*1... f5 2. c8=Q (if 2.c8=R? then 2...Bc3 3.Rxc3 Qg7#) 2... Bc3 3. Qxf5+ draws by stalemate.
*1... g5 (1...Ka1 2.c8=R transposes) 2. c8=R (2.c8=Q? Ka1 3.Qc2
r 3.Qc1+b1=Q+ wins) 2... Ka1 (2...Ng6 3.Rc1+ forces Black to capture, stalemating White) 3. Rc2!! (not 3.Rc1+?? b1=Q+! 4.Rxb1+ Bxb1#; now White threatens 4.Rxb2 and 5.Rxa2+, forcing stalemate or perpetual check) 3... Bc4 (trying to get in a check; 3...b1=Q, 3...b1=B, and 3...Bb1 are all stalemate; 3...Ng6 4.Rc1+!) 4. Rc1+ Ka2 5. Ra1+ Kb3 6. Ra3+ Kc2 7. Rc3+ Kd2 8. Rc2+ (rightmost diagram). As in Evans–Reshevsky, Black cannot escape the "eternal rook".
In problems
Some
chess problems require "White to move and stalemate Black in
n moves" (rather than the more common "White to move and checkmate Black in
n moves"). Problemists have also tried to construct the shortest possible game ending in stalemate.
Sam Loyd devised one just ten moves long: 1.e3 a5 2.Qh5 Ra6 3.Qxa5 h5 4.Qxc7 Rah6 5.h4 f6 6.Qxd7+ Kf7 7.Qxb7 Qd3 8.Qxb8 Qh7 9.Qxc8 Kg6 10.Qe6 (diagram at left). A similar stalemate is reached after: 1.d4 c5 2.dxc5 f6 3.Qxd7+ Kf7 4.Qxd8 Bf5 5.Qxb8 h5 6.Qxa8 Rh6 7.Qxb7 a6 8.Qxa6 Bh7 9.h4 Kg6 10.Qe6 (Frederick Rhine).
Loyd also demonstrated that stalemate can occur with all the pieces on the board: 1.d4 d6 2.Qd2 e5 3.a4 e4 4.Qf4 f5 5.h3 Be7 6.Qh2 Be6 7.Ra3 c5 8.Rg3 Qa5+ 9.Nd2 Bh4 10.f3 Bb3 11.d5 e3 12.c4 f4 (diagram at right). Games such as this are occasionally played in tournaments as a pre-arranged draw.
Double stalemate
There are
chess composition
A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by the composer using chess pieces on a chess board, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White is to ...
s featuring double stalemate. At left and at right are double stalemate positions, in which neither side has a legal move. Double stalemate is theoretically possible in a practical game, though is not known to ever have happened. Consider the following position:
The game draws after a waiting move like 1.Rg2 (1...b2+ 2.Rxb2; 1...c2 2.Rg4!). However, White has 1.Rb2?, an interesting blunder: if Black errs by 1...cxb2+? then White draws by 2.Kb1, creating a double stalemate position. Black could win by 1...c2! putting White in
zugzwang
Zugzwang (German for "compulsion to move", ) is a situation found in chess and other turn-based games wherein one player is put at a disadvantage because of their obligation to make a move; a player is said to be "in zugzwang" when any legal mov ...
.
The fastest known game ending in a double stalemate position was discovered by Enzo Minerva and published in the Italian newspaper ''
l'Unità
''l'Unità'' (, lit. 'the Unity') was an Italian newspaper, founded as the official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1924. It was supportive of that party's successor parties, the Democratic Party of the Left, Democrats of th ...
'' on 14 August 2007: 1.c4 d5 2.Qb3 Bh3 3.gxh3 f5 4.Qxb7 Kf7 5.Qxa7 Kg6 6.f3 c5 7.Qxe7 Rxa2 8.Kf2 Rxb2 9.Qxg7+ Kh5 10.Qxg8 Rxb1 11.Rxb1 Kh4 12.Qxh8 h5 13.Qh6 Bxh6 14.Rxb8 Be3+ 15.dxe3 Qxb8 16.Kg2 Qf4 17.exf4 d4 18.Be3 dxe3.
History of the stalemate rule
The stalemate rule has had a convoluted history. Although stalemate is universally recognized as a draw today, that has not been the case for much of the game's history. In the forerunners to modern chess, such as
chaturanga
Chaturanga ( sa, चतुरङ्ग; ') is an ancient Indian strategy game. While there is some uncertainty, the prevailing view among chess historians is that it is the common ancestor of the board games chess (European), xiangqi (Chines ...
, delivering stalemate resulted in a loss. However, this was changed in
shatranj
Shatranj ( ar, شطرنج; fa, شترنج; from Middle Persian ''chatrang'' ) is an old form of chess, as played in the Sasanian Empire. Its origins are in the Indian game of chaturaṅga. Modern chess gradually developed from this game, as i ...
, where stalemating was a win. This practice persisted in chess as played in early 15th-century Spain. However,
Lucena
Lucena, officially the City of Lucena ( fil, Lungsod ng Lucena), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines. It is the capital city of the Provinces of the ...
(c. 1497) treated stalemate as an inferior form of victory; it won only half the stake in games played for money, and this continued to be the case in Spain as late as 1600. From about 1600 to 1800, the rule in England was that stalemate was a
loss for the player administering it, a rule that the eminent chess historian
H. J. R. Murray
Harold James Ruthven Murray (24 June 1868 – 16 May 1955) was a British educationalist, inspector of schools, and prominent chess historian. His book, ''A History of Chess'', is widely regarded as the most authoritative and comprehensive hist ...
believes may have been adopted from Russian chess. That rule disappeared in England before 1820, being replaced by the French and Italian rule that a stalemate was a drawn game.
Throughout history, a stalemate has at various times been:
*
A win for the stalemating player in 10th century
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Pl ...
and parts of medieval Europe.
*
A half-win for the stalemating player. In a game played for stakes, they would win half the stake (18th century Spain).
*
A win for the stalemated player in 9th century India, 17th century Russia, on the Central Plain of Europe in the 17th century, and 17th–18th century England. This rule continued to be published in ''
Hoyle's Games Improved'' as late as 1866.
*
Illegal. If White made a move that would stalemate Black, he had to retract it and make a different move (Eastern Asia until the early 20th century). Murray likewise wrote that in Hindustani chess and Parsi chess, two of the three principal forms of chess played in India as of 1913, a player was not allowed to play a move that would stalemate the opponent. The same was true of Burmese chess, another chess variant, at the time of writing. Stalemate was not permitted in most of the Eastern Asiatic forms of the game (specifically in Burma, India, Japan, and Siam) until early in the 20th century.
*
The forfeiture of the stalemated player's turn to move (medieval France), although other medieval French sources treat stalemate as a draw.
*
A draw. This was the rule in 13th-century Italy and also stated in the German ''
Cracow Poem'' (1422), that noted, however, that some players treated stalemate as equivalent to
checkmate. This rule was ultimately adopted throughout Europe, but not in England until the 19th century, after being introduced there by
Jacob Sarratt.
Proposed rule change
Periodically, writers have argued that stalemate should again be made a win for the side causing the stalemate.
Grandmaster Larry Kaufman
Lawrence Charles Kaufman (born November 15, 1947) is an American chess and shōgi player. In chess, he was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE for winning the 2008 World Seniors Championship (which he later retroactively shared with Mihai Su ...
writes, "In my view, calling stalemate a draw is totally illogical, since it represents the ultimate ''
zugzwang
Zugzwang (German for "compulsion to move", ) is a situation found in chess and other turn-based games wherein one player is put at a disadvantage because of their obligation to make a move; a player is said to be "in zugzwang" when any legal mov ...
'', where any move would get your king taken". The British master
T. H. Tylor argued in a 1940 article in the ''
British Chess Magazine
''British Chess Magazine'' is the world's oldest chess journal in continuous publication. First published in January 1881, it has appeared at monthly intervals ever since. It is frequently known in the chess world as ''BCM''.
The founder an ...
'' that the present rule, treating stalemate as a draw, "is without historical foundation and irrational, and primarily responsible for a vast percentage of draws, and hence should be abolished". Years later,
Fred Reinfeld
Fred Reinfeld (January 27, 1910 – May 29, 1964) was an American writer on chess and many other subjects. He was also a strong chess master, often among the top ten American players from the early 1930s to the early 1940s, as well as a college ...
wrote, "When Tylor wrote his attack on the stalemate rule, he released about his unhappy head a swarm of peevish maledictions that are still buzzing."
Larry Evans calls the proposal to make stalemate a win for the stalemating player a "crude proposal that ... would radically alter centuries of tradition and make chess boring". This rule change would cause a greater emphasis on ; an extra pawn would be a greater advantage than it is today.
Rules in other chess variants
Not all
variants of chess consider the stalemate to be a draw. Many regional variants, as well some variants of Western chess, have adopted their own rules on how to treat the stalemated player. In
chaturanga
Chaturanga ( sa, चतुरङ्ग; ') is an ancient Indian strategy game. While there is some uncertainty, the prevailing view among chess historians is that it is the common ancestor of the board games chess (European), xiangqi (Chines ...
, which is widely considered to be the common ancestor of all variants of chess, a stalemate was a win for the stalemated player. Around the 7th century, this game was adopted in the Middle East as
shatranj
Shatranj ( ar, شطرنج; fa, شترنج; from Middle Persian ''chatrang'' ) is an old form of chess, as played in the Sasanian Empire. Its origins are in the Indian game of chaturaṅga. Modern chess gradually developed from this game, as i ...
with very similar rules to its predecessor; however, the stalemate rule was changed to its exact opposite: i.e. it was a win for the player delivering the stalemate. This game was in turn introduced to the western world, where it would eventually evolve to modern-day (Western)
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
, although the stalemate rule for Western chess was not standardised as a draw until the 19th century (see
history of the rule).
Modern Asian variants
Chaturanga also evolved into several other games in various regions of
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
, all of which have varying rules on stalemating:
* In
makruk
''Makruk'' ( th, หมากรุก; ; ), or Thai chess, is a board game that is descended from the 6th-century Indian game of ''chaturanga'' or a close relative thereof, and is therefore related to chess. It is part of the family of chess ...
(Thai chess), a stalemate results in a draw, like in Western chess.
* In
shogi
, also known as Japanese chess, is a strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games in Japan and is in the same family of games as Western chess, '' chaturanga, Xiangqi'', Indian chess, and ''janggi''. ''Shōgi ...
(Japanese chess) and the majority of its
variants
Variant may refer to:
In arts and entertainment
* ''Variant'' (magazine), a former British cultural magazine
* Variant cover, an issue of comic books with varying cover art
* ''Variant'' (novel), a novel by Robison Wells
* "The Variant", 2021 e ...
, a stalemate is a win for the player delivering the stalemate. This is because historically, the objective of shogi was to capture the opponent's king rather than to checkmate it; thus, a stalemate was no different from a checkmate, as both outcomes would typically result in the king's capture in the next move. The official rules of shogi (but not most of its variants) have since altered the objective of the game to checkmate, however stalemate is still considered a form of checkmate and thus a win for the stalemating player. However, in shogi (and in any variant of the game that features
drops
Drop, DROP, drops or DROPS may refer to:
* Drop (liquid) or droplet, a small volume of liquid
** Eye drops, saline (sometimes mydriatic) drops used as medication for the eyes
* Drop (unit), a unit of measure of volume
* Falling (physics), allowi ...
), stalemates are extremely rare due to the fact that no piece ever goes entirely out of play.
*
Xiangqi
''Xiangqi'' (; ), also called Chinese chess or elephant chess, is a strategy board game for two players. It is the most popular board game in China. ''Xiangqi'' is in the same family of games as '' shogi'', '' janggi'', Western chess, '' ...
(Chinese chess) and
janggi
''Janggi'' (including romanizations ''changgi'' and ''jangki''), sometimes called Korean chess, is a strategy board game popular on the Korean Peninsula. The game was derived from xiangqi (Chinese chess), and is very similar to it, including t ...
(Korean chess), despite being very similar to each other in terms of both the board and the pieces, have adopted different rules for what happens in the case of a stalemate. In xiangqi, like in shogi, it results in an immediate loss for the stalemated player, and there is no explicit distinction between it and checkmate. Janggi, on the other hand, allows the stalemated player to pass their turn; i.e., the player may (and in fact must) leave the
general
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
(analogous to the chess king) in position and make no move when stalemated.
* In
sittuyin
Sittuyin ( my, စစ်တုရင်), also known as Burmese chess, is a strategy board game created in Myanmar. It is a direct offspring of the Indian game of chaturanga, which arrived in Myanmar in the 8th century thus it is part of the sa ...
(Myanma/Burmese chess), stalemates are avoided altogether, as delivering them is illegal. Players are not allowed to leave the opponent with no legal moves without putting the king into check.
Western chess variants
The majority of
variants of Western chess do not specify any alterations to the rule of stalemate. There are some variants, however, where the rule
is specified to differ from that of standard chess:
* In
losing chess, the stalemate rule varies depending on the version being played. According to the "international" rules, a stalemate is simply a win for the stalemated player. The
Free Internet Chess Server
The Free Internet Chess Server (FICS) is a volunteer-run Internet chess server. It was organised as a free alternative to the Internet Chess Club (ICC), after that site began charging for membership.
History
The first Internet chess server, ...
, however, grants a win to the player with fewer pieces remaining on the board (regardless of who delivered the stalemate); if both players have the same number of pieces it is a draw. There is also a "joint" FICS/international rule, according to which a stalemate is only a win if both sources agree that it is a win (i.e. it counts as a win for the stalemated player if that player also happens to have fewer pieces remaining); in all other cases it is a draw.
* In
Gliński's hexagonal chess
Hexagonal chess is a group of chess variants played on boards composed of hexagon . The best known is Gliński's variant, played on a symmetric 91-cell hexagonal board.
Since each hexagonal cell not on a board edge has six neighbor cells, there ...
, stalemate is neither a draw nor a full win. Instead, in tournament games, the player who delivers the stalemate earns point, while the stalemated player receives point.
Gliński's Hexagonal Chess
/ref> It is unknown whether a stalemate should be considered a draw or a win in a .
See also
*Checkmate
Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game.
In chess, the king is ...
*Desperado
Desperado may refer to:
* Outlaw, particularly in the American Old West
Books
* ''Desperadoes'' (comics), a comic book series
* ''Desperadoes'' (novel), a 1979 novel by Ron Hansen
* Desperado Publishing, an American independent comic book publi ...
*Draw (chess)
In chess, there are a number of ways that a game can end in a draw, neither player winning. Draws are codified by various rules of chess including stalemate (when the player to move is not in check but has no legal move), threefold repetition ( ...
*Glossary of chess
This glossary of chess explains commonly used terms in chess, in alphabetical order. Some of these terms have their own pages, like '' fork'' and '' pin''. For a list of unorthodox chess pieces, see Fairy chess piece; for a list of terms specifi ...
* Rules of chess
* Swindle (chess)
Notes
References
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External links
* Edward Winter
Stalemate
*Edward Winter
"Stalemate!" Game Collection
at chessgames.com
Chessgames.com is an Internet chess community with over 224,000 members. The site maintains a large database of chess games, where each game has its own discussion page for comments and analysis. Limited primarily to games where at least one pl ...
Spassky vs. Keres, 1961, ended in stalemate
{{Authority control
Chess terminology
Rules of chess