Maverick Philosopher

1. STALEMATE. “The game is drawn when the king of the player who has the move is not in check and the player cannot make any legal move.” (USCF Official Rules of Chess, 1987, p. 12.)

2. AGREEMENT. If the players agree to a draw during the game, then it is a draw. (p. 12)

3. SUDDEN DEATH FLAG FALL. In a game played according to a ‘sudden death’ time control, if both flags are down before a win is claimed, then the game is a draw. (p. 103)

4. THREE-FOLD REPETITION OF POSITION (TFRP). “The game is drawn upon a claim by the player having the move, when the same position (a) is about to appear, or (b) has just appeared for the third time, the same player having the move each time. The position is considered the same if pieces of the same kind and color occupy the same squares and if the possible moves of all the pieces are the same, including the right to castle or to take a pawn en passant.” (p. 13)

This is the rule that a great many players do not understand. By my count, there are five typical mistakes that players make with respect to this rule.

First of all, it is a mistake to confuse TFRP with perpetual check. The latter is a special case of the former. In other words, every perpetual check situation is a TFRP, but not conversely. TFRP does not require that a King be checked.

Second, TFRP, as its name implies, has to do with position, not moves or move-sequences. Thus, if the same position occurs on the board three times, then the game is drawn. It does not matter by what sequences of moves the positions were attained. It follows that the positions need not occur consecutively: they may be separated by intervening moves. It is a very common mistake to think that there must be a consecutive repetition of position. But it is no less mistaken for being common. The above quoted definition clearly allows for a nonconsecutive repetition of position.

Third, it is a mistake to think that the position must actually be thrice repeated to have a draw by three-fold repetition. It suffices for the player on the move, when the position is about to occur for the third time, to claim a draw. Nimzovich famously said, “The threat is stronger than the execution.” Here we might say, “The threat suffices for the execution.” Thus the player on the move threatens to bring about an actual three-fold repetition of position, and this threat suffices to justify the claim to a draw.

Fourth, some players do not understand what ‘same position’ means. Sameness of position requires only two things: that (a) pieces of the same kind and color occupy the same squares, where ‘pieces’ is taken in the wide sense to include pawns, and (b) the pieces have the same possibilities of movement. Sameness of position does not require that numerically the same pieces occupy the same squares. To illustrate, suppose the white king knight occupies c4 while the white queen knight sits on f7, with the two kings positioned in some legal manner. Now imagine a sequence of moves whereby the position of the knights is reversed so that the white king knight is on f7 and the white queen knight is on c4, with the kings remaining on their original squares. Is the first position the same as the second? The definition given above implies that it is. Thus sameness of position, as defined, does not require that numerically the same pieces occupy the same squares, but only that the same kind of piece occupy the same squares. This example also illustrates that there need be no consecutive repetition of position. For it is clear that for the two knights to exchange positions, several intervening positions will have to occur.

Fifth, it would be a mistake to think that a draw by TFRP requires that the player on the move be able to force his opponent into a three-fold repetition of position. There are cases where this occurs, as in the case of perpetual check where repeated checks are delivered, but mate is impossible. But a draw by TFRP also occurs where the opponent is not forced to repeat the position but is free to vary. A player who does not vary either (a) wants a draw, (b) fails to see that a TFRP is in the offing, or (c) realizes that his game will be adversely affected if he varies.

5. INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL. There are four cases to consider. (a) Bare king against bare king is a draw. (b) Bare king against king and bishop or knight is a draw. (c) King and bishop against king and bishop with bishops on diagonals of the same color is a draw. (d) In the foregoing cases, neither side has mating material. But there is the situation in which one and only one of the players has mating material, but his flag falls before he can administer mate. In this case, the game is drawn. Obviously, one cannot be said to win if one lacks the material with which to win! (See USCF Rules, pp. 14, 103)

6. FIFTY MOVE RULE. “The game is drawn when the player having the move claims a draw and demonstrates that at least the last 50 consecutive moves have been made by each side without any piece being captured and any pawn moved.” (p. 15) Under certain conditions the number 50 an be increased to 100. See USCF Rules, p. 15.

7. INSUFFICIENT LOSING CHANCES. “14 H1. In a sudden death time control, a player with less than five minutes of remaining time may stop the clock and ask the director to declare the game a draw on the grounds that the player has insufficient losing chances. The draw shall be awarded if the director believes that a Class C player would have little chance to lose the position against a Master with both having ample time. The exact losing chances of any position cannot be calculated, but a director wishing a more precise standard may consider "little" to mean less than 10 percent.” This is a relatively new rule. Go here for a complete explanation.