Understanding what is a stalemate in chess can be a key to getting you out of a sticky situation in a chess match. If you understand stalemate in chess, the game is never over. Even in a completely lost position, you still have a chance to steal a draw. Also, and even more importantly, knowing your way around stalemates can help you avoid one of the worst feelings in chess: throwing away a win in a winning position.

So what is stalemate and how do we utilize that to help us to not lose games?

It Starts With Checkmate!

The key to understanding a stalemate in chess is to understand a checkmate. In reality, understanding checkmate is one of the most important parts of chess and after who goes first it is one of the first things beginners learn. We have an excellent article explaining checkmate, but the most important thing to remember is CPR.

This stands for Capture, Protect, and Run Away. These are the three ways to get out of check. You are in checkmate if you cannot get out of the check. For example, in the classic queen and helper style of checkmate, the queen is attacking the king, and black cannot capture or protect by putting a piece in the way or running away, so this is a checkmate.

With that in mind, understanding stalemate in chess is easy!

So, What is a Stalemate in Chess?

You are in stalemate when it is your turn but you have no legal move you can play.

The first example here shows a classic queen and king checkmate. The black king is in check, cannot move, and black has no other piece to move to help. This is checkmate.

What changed in this position? The black king is no longer in check, but they have no other legal move to play. That makes this a classic stalemate position.

If stalemate is when you have no legal move, then understanding stalemate is about understanding what you are not able to do in a position.

When playing in person, you don’t have the benefit of the website telling you it is a draw. So, when examining a board and wondering, “Did I just stalemate?” Here are some helpful questions to ask yourself:

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Am I in check?

First, look to see if your king is in check. If your king is in danger, it is not a stalemate. However, before you celebrate, that doesn’t automatically make it a checkmate. 

Can my king move??

Next, make sure you don’t have any legal moves with your king. If you can make a move with your king, it is not a stalemate. 

Do I have any other piece that can move?

Lastly, and what I see missed by most scholastic players who think a position might be a stalemate, make sure that you do not have any other piece on the board that can move. A position may have the look of a classic stalemate, but any piece with a legal move makes the position not a stalemate.

In this position, with black to move, it is not a stalemate, but it will still be a draw!

Draw vs Stalemate in Chess

A stalemate is a type of draw, but not all draws are stalemates. In fact, most draws are not stalemates. 

Types of Draws

There are many ways for a game to end in chess, and not all of them are glorious victories after you sacrifice multiple pieces. Not every draw is boring, but some can be as simple as shaking hands.

Agreement

Agreeing to a draw is one of the more straightforward ways to draw a chess game.

Threefold Repetition

Threefold repetition means the game is a draw after the position on the board has repeated itself three times. This can sometimes be forced by one player in a losing position when no other move is possible. This allows a similar swindle to the stalemate trick. A perpetual check can save a lost position in the same way.

Regardless of the amount of material that black has, white can still force a draw with threefold repetition. by bouncing the queen between h5 and e8, checking the back and causing him to alternate between g8 and h7.

The Fifty-Move Rule

The fifty-move rule might be one of the most misunderstood rules in chess. When being a tournament director for scholastic events, I often would have kids ask me if their game was a draw, “because our game has reached fifty moves.” Luckily we have a great explanation of the fifty-move rule for you.

Insufficient Mating Material

Lastly, if there is not enough material on the board to checkmate, this is also a draw. The easiest example of this is a king vs king position.

What Stalemate in Chess Means for You!

Once you know about stalemate, there are a few ways it can influence your game. Especially at the lower levels, stalemate means you should never give up. Your opponent has to prove that they know how to checkmate without stalemating, and you may even have the opportunity to trick them.

The Trap

Chess is full of tactics and tricks, but sometimes stalemate is just an accident. In practice games between beginners, I often have to point out to the players that the game is actually already over because of stalemate. However, as you learn more about stalemate, it can become another tool in the chess tactics toolbox.

For instance, in this position, black has just played rook to c6. This is a blitz game, and black was hoping white would quickly take the rook without thinking, therefore stealing a draw.

Unfortunately for the 1904-rated kid playing black, Nurassyl Primbetov, he was playing 2888-rated Magnus Carlsen, who did not fall for his trap and went on to claim victory.

Some Common Stalemates in Chess

There are a few more common types of stalemates to watch out for and be familiar with. The first will be familiar to anyone who has been drilling their basic endgames.

King and Pawn vs. King Stalemate 

Reaching this stalemate for black is very satisfying, but incredibly devastating for white who very well could have blundered this game away a few moves earlier. Making sure you know these basic checkmates, and how to defend against them, is an important part of any chess player's education.

King and Queen

Another common stalemate is during the queen and king checkmate.

While pushing the black king to the corner, sometimes by intentionally putting the queen a knight's distance away from the black king, white can accidentally stalemate here by allowing black no legal moves in the corner of the board.

You may think this is a problem just for lower-rated players, but time scrambles are difficult for everyone.

Here is another example of a king and queen-type stalemate. We can see that sometimes, the addition of more pieces can make the stalemate more likely. The addition of a bishop for white complicates matters.

White just played queen c5 in this position and blundered away a win in the 1988 World Blitz Championship. White was none other than Garry Kasparov playing a bit too quickly in a time scramble. There are a lot of moves that can be played in a game of chess, and even the best of the best can fall to the most frustrating stalemates.

Desperation

Another theme to know is that when your king has no legal moves, look for a desperado stalemate. Primbetov’s strategy against Magnus was good, and it can also be a good one against players not named Carlsen.

Here is another example. White has no legal moves with their king, so they play rook to e6+. Now black doesn’t have to capture. However, even Magnus would not able to escape the endless attacks here from whites’ rook while they will check blacks' king perpetually.

How to Avoid a Stalemate in Chess

Is it possible to avoid the frustration of a stalemate? Well, few things can really help you avoid stalemate in a huge time scramble, but doing your best to know your basic endgames, how to checkmate with different pieces, and knowing how to simplify into easily winning positions, can all be a good start. 

Ultimately asking yourself the simple question of “What will my opponent play,” after every move will help keep you from stalemating, as well as possibly blundering pieces and checkmates.

My Favorite Stalemate

So how do you play thirteen brilliant moves in one game? I already gave you the answer. 

This rook desperado was actually from one of my online games, and because my opponent refused my sacrifice thirteen times, I had thirteen brilliancies before they finally accepted the piece and the draw. So never give up in a game, and you might be as brilliant, or let's be honest, lucky, as I was with a stalemate.

FAQ: What is a Stalemate in Chess?