Draw by agreement

A game of chess can end in a draw by agreement. A player may offer a draw at any stage of a game; if the opponent accepts, the game is a draw. In some competitions, draws by agreement are restricted; for example draw offers may be subject to the discretion of the arbiter, or may be forbidden before move 30 or 40, or even forbidden altogether. The majority of draws in chess are by agreement.
Under FIDE rules, a draw should be offered after making the move and before pressing the clock, then marked in the scoresheet as . However, draw offers made at any time are valid. If a player offers a draw before making a move, the opponent has the option of requesting a move before deciding whether or not to accept the offer. Once made, a draw offer cannot be retracted and is valid until rejected.
A player may offer a draw by asking, "Would you like a draw?", or similar; the French word remis is internationally understood as a draw offer and may be used if the players do not share a common language. Players may also offer draws and accept draw offers by merely nodding their heads. A draw may be rejected either verbally or by making a move.
A draw by agreement after less than twenty moves where neither player makes a serious effort to win is colloquially known as a "grandmaster draw". Many chess players and organizers disapprove of grandmaster draws, and efforts have been made to discourage them, such as forbidding draw offers before move 30. However, professional players have defended grandmaster draws, saying they are important to conserve energy during a tournament.

Etiquette

Although a draw may be offered at any time, an illogical offer runs the risk of violating article 11.5, which states: "It is forbidden to distract or annoy the opponent in any manner whatsoever. This includes unreasonable offers of a draw" This rule is applied with the arbiter's discretion; for example, a player loudly offering a draw while the opponent is thinking may well suffer a time penalty or even forfeit the game, but it is unlikely that a player would be penalized for offering a draw in a lifeless position when it is not their turn to move.
At one time, chess players considered it bad manners to play out a superior but theoretically drawn endgame. In such cases, the superior side was expected to offer a draw.
There are certain behavioural norms relating to draw offers not codified in the FIDE Laws of Chess but widely observed. For example, many consider it bad manners for a player who has offered a draw once to do so again before their opponent has offered a draw. Such repeated offers of a draw have also sometimes been considered distracting enough to warrant the arbiter taking action under article 11.5.
It is considered bad etiquette to offer a draw in a clearly lost position or even when one has no winning chances but one's opponent does. Garry Kasparov regularly criticizes grandmasters who offer a draw when their position is worse. However, such offers are sometimes used as psychological tricks. The position in the diagram arose in the game Samuel Reshevsky–Fotis Mastichiadis, Dubrovnik 1950. Reshevsky played 24.Nd2?, and saw at once that he would be put into a very bad situation with 24...Nxf2. Thinking quickly, he offered a draw to his opponent, who was busy writing down the move in his scoresheet. Mastichiadis, a minor master, was so happy to get half a point against his illustrious opponent that he did not pause to examine the position before accepting the offer.
The rule about the procedure of offering a draw was violated in a 1981 game between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. Kasparov moved 17. Ra2 and offered a draw. Karpov instantly replied 17... Be7 and then said "Make a move!", which is a violation of the rule. Kasparov moved 18. b5 and then Karpov accepted the draw.
In the 1958 game between Tigran Petrosian and Bobby Fischer, Fischer offered a draw without making a move first, which was accepted by Petrosian. He explains in his book My 60 Memorable Games:

I offered a draw, not realizing it was bad etiquette. It was Petrosian's place to extend the draw offer after 67...Rxg6+ 68.Kxg6 Kb1 69.f8=Q c2 with a book draw.

Practical considerations

Players sometimes make draw offers in consideration of outside factors. In 1977 Viktor Korchnoi and former World Champion Tigran Petrosian played a twelve-game quarter-final Candidates Match to ultimately determine the challenger for the 1978 World Championship. After eleven games, Korchnoi was leading by one point, so he only needed a draw in the final game to advance to the semi-finals. Korchnoi, as Black, was winning this game, but he offered a draw after 40 moves. According to Edmar Mednis, it was "gentlemanly and the practical thing to do". Korchnoi went on to unsuccessfully challenge Anatoly Karpov for the World Championship.
Sometimes, time constraints for one or both of the players may be a factor in agreeing to a draw. A player with an advantageous position but limited time may be agreeable to a draw to avoid risking a loss from running out of time, and the opponent may also be agreeable to a draw due to their disadvantageous position.

Grandmaster draw

A or short draw is a draw reached after very few moves, usually between high-ranked players. British master P. H. Clarke wrote about the positive aspects of a short draw:

Unless you are of the calibre of Botvinnik – and who is – you cannot hope to play at full power day after day. The technical draws are a necessary means of conserving energy. As such, they contribute to raising the standard of play rather than lowering it.

All of the games of the second Piatigorsky Cup were annotated by players, including the short draws. Their comments on two short draws follow, followed by comments on some other short draws.

Spassky vs. Petrosian

wrote:

The present game once again demonstrates how grandmasters play when they do not care to win. Of course, it is not an interesting spectacle for the onlookers. However, if chess enthusiasts could find themselves in the positions of the grandmasters they would not judge them so severely.

Reshevsky vs. Portisch

wrote:

Here Reshevsky offered me a draw, which was accepted. Is this a grandmaster draw? I do not think so. Reshevsky had consumed most of his time, and had only 30 minutes for the remaining moves. On my part it would have been pointless to rely on his as I saw that after 17. dxe5 Nd5 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. Nxd5 Bxd5 20. Be4, the draw is evident. In such a strong tournament and against such outstanding players it would not be wise to try to win a game of this kind. One could only lose energy. Neither side had any advantage, so why try to force the issue?

Averbakh vs. Fischer

In the 1958 game between Yuri Averbakh and Bobby Fischer, the players agreed to a draw in an unclear position where White is a piece ahead. Asked about the draw, the teenage Fischer said, "I was afraid of losing to a Russian grandmaster and he was afraid of losing to a kid." Averbakh stated that Fischer offered the draw and that each player had only about ten minutes to make the 19 or 20 moves before time control.

Karpov vs. Kasparov

Several short draws occurred in the World Chess Championship 1984 between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov. This one occurred in the 29th game after thirteen moves. Kasparov explains

Draw agreed on Black's proposal: with the resulting complete symmetry, the fighting resources are practically exhausted.

White had used 99 minutes; Black had used 51 minutes.

Keres vs. Petrosian

In 1962 a Candidates Tournament was held in Curaçao to determine the challenger to Mikhail Botvinnik in the 1963 World Championship. There is good evidence that Soviet players Tigran Petrosian, Paul Keres, and Efim Geller arranged to draw all of the games between themselves. The twelve games played between these three players were all short draws, averaging 19 moves.
This diagram shows the final position from the shortest one – only fourteen moves were played. This was in the 25th of 28 rounds, and the final game between Keres and Petrosian. Bobby Fischer charged that Petrosian accepted a draw when he was winning and Jan Timman agrees. Petrosian went on to win the tournament and win the championship from Botvinnik.

Tal vs. Botvinnik

In the 21st of 24 games of the 1960 World Chess Championship between Mikhail Tal and Mikhail Botvinnik, Tal only needed a half point to win the title, so he got to a position where Black had no winning chances, and quickly agreed to a draw.

Polugaevsky vs. Tal

In the 1967 USSR Championship, Lev Polugaevsky and Mikhail Tal were leading with the same number of points going into the next-to-last round. They played each other that round. After
Polugaevsky offered a draw. Tal explains

I played 2...e6 and Lev offered me a draw. I accepted, although for decency's sake we made a further 12 moves or so, and the question of first place was put off until the last round..

Kasparov vs. Karpov

Before the 20th game of the 1986 World Championship, Kasparov had just lost three games in a row, which evened the match score. Kasparov had White in the 20th game, in which a draw was agreed after 21 moves. White had used 1 hour and 11 minutes; Black used 1 hour and 52 minutes. Kasparov writes "In the 20th game we decided in the end 'not to play' A typical grandmaster draw, although one can understand the two players – each fulfilled the objective he had set himself before the game." Kasparov did not want to lose a fourth game in a row, and Karpov wanted to draw as Black.

Kasparov vs. Smyslov

Kasparov had this to say about one of the games of his 1984 match against Vasily Smyslov: "It all ended in a 'planned' draw, and I was not exactly delighted with such a pre-programmed result."