Draws in Chess: Threefold Repetition, the 50-Move Rule and Insufficient Material
Hiroki Obara Ā· Developer
A chess game ends in a win, a loss or a draw. Wins and losses come down to checkmate, resignation and running out of time, but there are many kinds of draw. Some happen automatically, and some only happen when the player to move claims them.
In this post I sort out the draws in the FIDE Laws of Chess, with the article numbers. The numbers are from the version in force since January 2023.
The list
Here is the whole picture first.
| Type | Article | Automatic or claimed |
|---|---|---|
| Stalemate | 5.2.1 | Automatic |
| Dead position (insufficient material and others) | 5.2.2 | Automatic |
| Agreement | 5.2.3, 9.1 | Both players agree |
| Threefold repetition | 9.2 | Claimed by the player to move |
| 50-move rule | 9.3 | Claimed by the player to move |
| Fivefold repetition | 9.6.1 | Automatic |
| 75 moves | 9.6.2 | Automatic |
| Flag fall when the opponent cannot mate | 6.9 | Automatic |
The first three are in Article 5, on how a game ends. The repetition and move count draws are in Article 9, on drawn games. I will go through them in order.
Stalemate
The player to move has no legal move, and their king is not in check. The game ends there as a draw.
Stalemate is the draw that the winning side most often walks into by accident. I wrote about where it tends to happen and how to avoid it in Stalemate Explained, so here I give only the definition.
Dead positions and insufficient material
Article 5.2.2 says the game is drawn when a position arises in which neither player can checkmate the opponentās king by any series of legal moves. This is called a dead position. In practice it usually comes up as insufficient material.
The typical cases are these material balances.
- King against king
- King and one bishop against king
- King and one knight against king
- King and bishop against king and bishop, with both bishops on squares of the same colour
A single bishop or a single knight cannot cover every escape square of the enemy king, wherever it stands. So once one of these positions appears, the game is over, with no claim needed.
Note that the rule is about whether any mating sequence exists, not about counting pieces. King and two knights against king, for example, is not a draw by this rule. A mate can be built if the defender cooperates, so the position is not dead. If the defender plays correctly, though, mate cannot be forced, so in practice the game usually ends in a draw some other way, such as the 50-move rule below.
The other way round, a position with plenty of pieces can be dead if the pawns are locked together so that neither king can ever get through. In tournaments, the arbiter decides these cases.
Agreement
The two players can agree to a draw at any time during the game, as long as each has made at least one move.
There is a proper way to offer one. Article 9.1.2.1 says a draw offer is made after making your move on the board and before pressing your clock. The offer cannot have conditions attached and cannot be withdrawn. It lapses when the opponent rejects it orally or touches a piece to make a move.
An event can also have regulations that forbid agreed draws before a set number of moves, or without the arbiterās consent at all (9.1.1).
Threefold repetition
When the same position appears for the third time, the game is drawn on a correct claim by the player to move. There are a few points here that beginners often get wrong.
First, it is not automatic. Over the board, it is only a draw if the player to move claims it from the arbiter. You can claim when your next move will produce the position for the third time, or when your opponentās move has just produced it. In the first case, you write the move on your scoresheet without playing it on the board, and then claim. If you touch a piece, you lose the right to claim on that move (9.4).
Second, the three times do not have to be in a row. Other positions can come in between. What counts is that the same position appears three times in total.
Third, there is what āthe same positionā means. Article 9.2.3 requires the same player to have the move, pieces of the same kind and colour on the same squares, and the same possible moves for all pieces of both players. If the pieces stand on the same squares but en passant was possible the first time and not the second, or castling rights have changed, the positions count as different.
Perpetual check, which you hear about often, is not a separate draw in the rules. Checking over and over repeats the position, so it ends with a threefold repetition claim or by agreement.
If a claim turns out to be incorrect, two minutes are added to the opponentās time and the game goes on (9.5.3).
The 50-move rule
If White and Black have each made 50 moves without any pawn move and without any capture, the player to move can claim a draw. A pawn move or a capture starts the count again.
This rule mostly matters in the endgame. King and rook against king, for example, can be mated well within 50 moves, but if you chase the king around without knowing the method, you can use up all 50. That is one more reason to learn the basic mates. The methods are in How to Checkmate with King and Queen and How to Checkmate with King and Rook.
Fivefold repetition and 75 moves
Threefold repetition and the 50-move rule need a claim. If nobody claims, the game still ends at some point.
- When the same position has appeared five times, the game is drawn automatically (9.6.1)
- When White and Black have each made 75 moves without a pawn move or a capture, the game is drawn automatically (9.6.2)
In both cases, if the last move gave checkmate, the checkmate stands.
When running out of time is a draw
If you run out of time, you normally lose. Article 6.9 has an exception. If the position is such that the opponent cannot checkmate your king by any series of legal moves, the game is drawn.
For example, if your opponent has only a king left, you do not lose even if your flag falls. Sometimes the side that is far behind holds on, hoping the opponent runs out of time. That only works if the side hoping to win on time still has enough material to mate.
The rules that cost beginners points
There are two rules that beginners lose out on by not knowing them.
One is stalemate. The winning side is driving the enemy king into a corner with the queen, and takes away every square without giving check. A won game becomes a draw. However big the lead in material, stalemate is still a draw. How to think about material is in Chess Piece Values and How to Think About Trades.
The other is that threefold repetition and the 50-move rule need a claim. In online chess the server often draws the game automatically, so it is easy to assume the game just ends over the board too. Over the board, if you do not claim on your turn, the game goes on. The other way round, a player in a losing position may be repeating moves without realizing they could claim a draw.
Stalemate in Chess365
Chess365 is a checkmate puzzle app with 1,000 puzzles each of mate in 2, 3, 4 and 5. You always play White, you can make any legal move, and Black answers with the most stubborn defence.
If you aim for mate but leave Black with no legal move and no check, the app shows āStalemateā, and the attempt fails as a draw. The how-to-play pages also tell you to leave the king a move until you mate. The puzzles are only 2 to 5 moves long, so threefold repetition and the 50-move rule never come into play.
You have three retries if you fail, and after solving, Review lets you step back and forward one move at a time. How to use the app is in Getting Started with Chess365.
