What is stalemate in chess?
Stalemate is when the player to move is not in check but has no legal move. It is a draw, not a win, so never trap the enemy king without giving check.
A stalemate happens when it’s your turn, your king is not in check, and none of your pieces has a legal move. The game ends at once as a draw, even if you were far ahead.
Example
White has a king on g6 and a queen on f7; Black has only a king on h8, with Black to move. The black king is not attacked, but every square it could step to is covered, so the game is drawn. Change one thing, the queen on g7 instead of f7, and the black king is in check with no escape: that is checkmate, and White wins.
How to avoid it
- Before you move, count the squares your opponent’s king and other pieces could still use.
- When you’re winning, give check on your last move rather than only boxing the king in.
- If you are the one losing, look for a stalemate as a rescue.
Stalemate is one of the automatic draws, along with threefold repetition and the fifty-move rule.
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