What Is a Draw in Chess? The 5 Ways a Game Is Drawn

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Not every chess game has a winner. A draw is a game that ends without a winner or a loser, and in a tournament each player gets half a point.

The five ways a game can be drawn

1. Stalemate: the player whose turn it is has no legal move, and their king is not in check.
2. Not enough pieces to checkmate: for example king against king, king and bishop against king (as in the diagram above), or king and knight against king. Nobody can win, so the game ends straight away.
3. Threefold repetition: the same position appears three times, with the same player to move.
4. The fifty-move rule: fifty moves have been played by each player without any capture or pawn move.
5. Agreement: both players agree to a draw.

Tips for children

• When you are winning, watch out for stalemate. It is the most common way beginners lose half a point.
• When you are losing, look for a draw. Repeating checks, or trading pieces until nobody can checkmate, can save a lost game.
• Do not offer draws too quickly. Young players learn the most by playing positions to the end.

Checkmate, stalemate or draw?

If the game is over, ask two questions. Is the king in check with no way out? Then it is checkmate, and someone has won. Is there no legal move without check? Then it is stalemate, a draw. Anything else on this list is also a draw.

For parents

Draws are a normal part of chess, and a hard-fought draw can be a great result. When your child draws a game they expected to win, look together at where the win slipped away, often a stalemate or a missed checkmate.