Stalemate -Chess

The word stalemate is one of the most important chess terms. As the last hope for players defending a lost position, it can turn players games from a loss into a draw. It can cause frustration, happiness, excitement and aesthetical pleasure.

For players new to chess and even for some that have experience, stalemate can be a little confusing. Stalemate is a special type of draw or tie that helps the player that is losing! Specifically, it is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check, and that player has no other legal moves to make.According to the chess rules, stalemate ends the game with a draw.

• King is not in check.
• No other legal moves to make.
• It is a draw.

At first glance, the rule might seem counter-intuitive. Why should the game end in a draw if you player deprived the opponent of any legal move? Shouldn’t it end in a crushing victory for the stronger side? There has already been plenty of debate on this question. However, the current rules of chess define stalemate as a draw and it’s not likely that this rule will be changed any time soon.

Examples of Stalemate

It is Black to move in the diagram above, but the Black king has no legal square to move to. Due to the fact that the Black king is not in check, we have a stalemate on the board. The game ends in a draw.

Objectively speaking, this position is completely winning for White. He is a whole queen up and Black only has a king. Still, many beginner players are not familiar with the winning mating pattern. Instead of bringing the king closer to the enemy’s king in order to help the queen give checkmate, they take away even more squares from the opponent’s king.

In the diagram above, the move Qc7 looks like a powerful move at first glance as it traps the Black king in the corner. The problem with this move, however, is that the king is not in check and can’t make any moves. As Black does not have any other pieces to move on the board, the position is a stalemate. Instead, White could have simply mated Black in two moves by starting with Kc6! Kb8 (Black’s only legal move) Qb7#.

Stalemate is a great defensive resource to play for when you are losing and everything seems hopeless. Many games in chess history have been saved by this resource! Good luck!