Not every game has a winner

We've just learnt how checkmate ends a game. One player wins, and the other loses. But chess has a third possible result: a draw. Neither player wins. In a tournament, each player normally receives half a point.

One of the most surprising draws happens when someone has no legal moves at all. That sounds rather like checkmate, doesn't it? There's one crucial difference.

What is stalemate?

Stalemate happens when it is a player's turn, they have no legal moves, and their king is not in check. The game ends immediately as a draw.

Imagine Black's king in the corner on a8. White's queen is on b6 and White's king is on c6.

Black cannot move to a7, b7 or b8 without moving into an attack. But the king on a8 is not itself under attack. There are no other black pieces that could move. That means Black has no legal moves: stalemate.

Notice that it isn't enough to trap the king. We have to ask whether the king is actually in check.

Checkmate or stalemate? One small difference

Let's change the position slightly. White's queen is now on b7 instead of b6.

The queen attacks the king on a8. Black still has no legal move that saves the king. That's checkmate, so White wins.

Compare it with our first board again: when the king is not in check, the same lack of legal moves means a draw.

Here's the key difference:

• Checkmate: The king is in check, and the player to move has no legal move that escapes it. The attacking player wins.
• Stalemate: The king is not in check, but the player to move has no legal move. The game is drawn.

There's another possibility too: a king can look trapped without actually being trapped. In the next position, Black can still move the king to a7.

Black has a legal move and the king is not in check, so the game continues. Even one legal move is enough to avoid stalemate.

Stalemate can happen on either side of the board

The black king doesn't have to be on a8. Here, it's on h8, with White's queen and king closing every escape.

Black isn't in check, but g8, g7 and h7 are all unavailable. This is another stalemate. The rule doesn't depend on the corner or which colour you're playing.

The danger of accidental stalemate

Suppose you have a queen and a king against a lone king. You're comfortably ahead. It can be tempting to give the king fewer and fewer squares, but there's a trap: if your move leaves the opponent no legal move without giving check, the game ends in a draw.

Look at this position. White to move, with a queen on c5, a king on c6, and Black's king on a8.

If White moves the queen from c5 to b6, this is what happens:

Black has no legal move and is not in check. The game is drawn immediately, even though White has a queen!

Moving the queen from c5 to b5 would instead leave Black a safe square on a7. The game could continue. Try both choices in the challenge below.

Sometimes checkmate is impossible

Some positions are drawn because neither player can possibly checkmate the other, no matter how play continues legally. Chess calls this a dead position.

Here are two straightforward examples:

Just two kings cannot checkmate each other.

A king and a single bishop against a lone king cannot deliver checkmate either. A lone knight is another familiar example.

This isn't stalemate: players may have legal moves. The draw comes from checkmate being impossible, not from having nowhere to move.

Repetition and the 50-move rule

Chess has rules to prevent a game from going on indefinitely when nothing meaningful changes.

Threefold repetition: If the same position appears for the third time, a player entitled to move can claim a draw. The occurrences don't have to happen one after another. It's the position that matters, including whose turn it is and relevant move rights — not simply whether a piece has returned to the same square.

50-move rule: A player can claim a draw once 50 moves by each player have passed without a pawn move or a capture. A pawn move or capture resets that count.

Under the standard FIDE rules, some draws happen automatically rather than needing a claim: the same position appearing five times, or 75 moves by each player without a pawn move or capture. If the final move delivers checkmate, that checkmate takes precedence over the 75-move rule.

You don't need to memorise the claiming procedure just yet. The important distinction is that threefold repetition and the 50-move rule normally need a claim, while fivefold repetition and the 75-move rule end the game automatically.

Players can agree a draw

Sometimes both players decide that neither wants to continue. They can agree to a draw. In an ordinary friendly game, this might be as simple as one player offering a draw and the other accepting.

Formal tournaments have rules about when and how offers are made, and some competitions limit early draw agreements. We'll cover those practical details when we discuss playing with other people.

Stalemate Challenge

Let's test your understanding. First, decide whether a position is stalemate, checkmate, still in play, or drawn because checkmate is impossible. Then help White avoid accidentally stalemating Black.

As with our earlier challenges, look carefully at the whole board before revealing an answer. The positions use real chess rules, not just highlighted squares.

What to remember

• Stalemate: the player to move has no legal move, but their king is not in check. The result is a draw.
• Checkmate: the king is in check and there is no legal escape. The attacking player wins.
• If the player to move has even one legal move, it isn't stalemate.
• A position where neither side can ever give checkmate is also drawn, even if legal moves remain.
• Be careful not to stalemate an opponent accidentally when you are winning.
• A player can claim a draw for threefold repetition or under the 50-move rule; fivefold repetition and the 75-move rule normally end the game automatically.
• Players may also agree to a draw.

Knowledge check

Are you confident you can recognise stalemate and understand the other common draws? Try these questions before moving on.

Next: Castling and king safety

We now know how to recognise a win and a draw. Next, we'll learn a special move involving both the king and a rook: castling. It helps explain why king safety matters from the beginning of a game.