Stalemate


Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal move. Stalemate results in a draw. During the endgame, stalemate is a resource that can enable the player with the inferior position to draw the game rather than lose. In more complex positions, stalemate is much rarer, usually the result of a swindle that succeeds only if the superior side is inattentive. Stalemate is also a common theme in endgame studies and other chess problems.
The outcome of a stalemate was standardized as a draw in the 19th century. Before this standardization, its treatment varied widely, including being deemed a win for the stalemating player, a half-win for that player, or a loss for that player; not being permitted; and resulting in the stalemated player missing a turn. Stalemate rules vary in variants and other games of the chess family.

Etymology and usage

The first recorded use of stalemate is from 1765. It is a compounding of Middle English stale and mate. Stale is probably derived from Anglo-French estale meaning "standstill", a cognate of "stand" and "stall", both ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *sta-. The first recorded use in a figurative sense is in 1885.
Stalemate has become a widely used metaphor for other situations where there is a conflict or contest between two parties, such as war or political negotiations, and neither side is able to achieve victory, resulting in what is also called an impasse, a deadlock, or a Mexican standoff. Chess writers note that this usage is a misnomer because, unlike in chess, the situation is often a temporary one that is ultimately resolved, even if it seems currently intractable. The term "stalemate" is sometimes used incorrectly as a generic term for a draw in chess. While draws are common, they are rarely the direct result of stalemate.

Examples

With Black to move, Black is stalemated in diagrams 1 to 5. Stalemate is an important factor in the endgame – the endgame setup in diagram 1, for example, quite frequently is relevant in play. The position in diagram 1 occurred in an 1898 game between Amos Burn and Harry Pillsbury and also in a 1925 game between Savielly Tartakower and Richard Réti. The same position, except shifted to the e-, occurred in a 2009 game between Gata Kamsky and Vladimir Kramnik.
The position in diagram 3 is an example of a pawn drawing against a queen. Stalemates of this sort can often save a player from losing an apparently hopeless position.
The position in diagram 5 is a special kind of stalemate, in which no move is possible even if one ignores the need to avoid self-check. George P. Jelliss has called this type of stalemate a deadlock. Adding a White knight on f2 would produce a checklock: a checkmate position where no moves are possible, even if one ignores the need to avoid self-check. In general, positions with no moves at all available are called locks.

Examples from games

Anand versus Kramnik

In this position from the game Viswanathan Anand–Vladimir Kramnik from the 2007 World Chess Championship, Black played 65...Kxf5, stalemating White.

Korchnoi versus Karpov

An intentional stalemate occurred on the 124th move of the fifth game of the 1978 World Championship match between Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov. The game had been a theoretical draw for many moves. White's bishop is useless; it cannot defend the queening square at a8 nor attack the black pawn on the light a4-square. If the white king heads towards the black pawn, the black king can move towards a8 and set up a fortress.
The players were not on speaking terms, however, so neither would offer a draw by agreement. On his 124th move, White played 124.Bg7, delivering stalemate. Korchnoi said that it gave him pleasure to stalemate Karpov and that it was slightly humiliating. Until 2021, this was the longest game played in a World Chess Championship final match, as well as the only World Championship game to end in stalemate before 2007.

Bernstein versus Smyslov

Sometimes, a surprise stalemate saves a game. In the game Ossip Bernstein–Vasily Smyslov, Black can win by sacrificing the f-pawn and using the king to support the b-pawn. However, Smyslov thought it was good to advance the b-pawn because he could win the white rook with a skewer if it captured the pawn. Play went:
Now 60...Rh2+ 61.Kf3! Rxb2 would be stalemate. Smyslov played 60...Kg4, and the game was drawn after 61.Kf1.

Matulović versus Minev

Whereas the possibility of stalemate arose in the Bernstein–Smyslov game because of a blunder, it can also arise without one, as in the game Milan Matulović–Nikolay Minev. Play continued:
The only meaningful attempt to make progress. Now all moves by Black lose, with one exception.
Now 4.Rxa6 would be stalemate. White played 4.Rc5+ instead, and the game was drawn several moves later.

Williams versus Harrwitz

In the game Elijah Williams–Daniel Harrwitz, Black was up a knight and a pawn in an endgame. This would normally be a decisive advantage, but Black could find no way to make progress because of various stalemate resources available to White. The game continued:
Avoiding the threatened 73...Nc2+.
76...Nc2+ 77.Rxc2+! Kxc2 is stalemate.
77...Kxc3 is stalemate.
79...Rd3 80.Rxd3+! leaves Black with either insufficient material to win after 80...Nxd3 81.Kxa2 or a standard fortress in a corner draw after 80...Kxd3.
Now the players agreed to a draw, since 84...Kxb3 or 84...Rxb3 is stalemate, as is 84...Ra8 85.Rxc3+! Kxc3.
Black could still have won the game until his critical mistake on move 82. Instead of 82...Nc3, 82...Nb4 wins; for example, after 83.Rc8 Re3 84.Rb8+ Kc5 85.Rc8+ Kd5 86.Rd8+ Kc6 87.Ra8 Re1+ 88.Kb2 Kc5 89.Kc3 a1=Q+, Black wins.

Carlsen versus Van Wely

This 2007 game, Magnus Carlsen–Loek van Wely, ended in stalemate. White used the second-rank defense in a rook and bishop versus rook endgame for 46 moves. The fifty-move rule was about to come into effect, under which White could claim a draw. The game ended:
White was stalemated.

More complex examples

Although stalemate usually occurs in the endgame, it can also occur with more pieces on the board. Outside of relatively simple endgame positions, such as those above, stalemate occurs rarely, usually when the side with the superior position has overlooked the possibility of stalemate. This is typically realized by the inferior side's sacrifice of one or more pieces in order to force stalemate. A piece that is offered as a sacrifice to bring about stalemate is sometimes called a desperado.

Evans versus Reshevsky

One of the best-known examples of the desperado is the game Larry Evans–Samuel Reshevsky that was dubbed "The Swindle of the Century". Evans sacrificed his queen on move 49 and offered his rook on move 50. White's rook has been called the eternal rook. Capturing it results in stalemate, but otherwise it stays on the seventh and checks Black's king ad infinitum. The game would inevitably end in a draw by agreement, by threefold repetition, or by an eventual claim under the fifty-move rule.
After 48...Qg6! 49.Rf8 Qe6! 50.Rh8+ Kg6, Black remains a piece ahead after 51.Qxe6 Nxe6, or after 51.gxf4 Re1+ and 52...Qa2+.

Gelfand versus Kramnik

The position at right occurred in Boris Gelfand–Vladimir Kramnik, 1994 FIDE Candidates match, game 6, in Sanghi Nagar, India. Kramnik, down two pawns and on the defensive, would be very happy with a draw. Gelfand has just played 67. Re4–e7, a strong-looking move that threatens 68.Qxf6, winning a third pawn, or 68.Rc7, further constricting Black. Black responded 67... Qc1 If White takes Black's undefended rook with 68.Qxd8, Black's desperado queen forces the draw with 68...Qh1+ 69.Kg3 Qh2+!, compelling 70.Kxh2 stalemate. If White avoids the stalemate with 68.Rxg7+ Kxg7 69.Qxd8, Black draws by perpetual check with 69...Qh1+ 70.Kg3 Qg1+ 71.Kf4 Qc1+! 72.Ke4 Qc6+! 73.Kd3 Qxf3+! 74.Kd2 Qg2+! 75.Kc3 Qc6+ 76.Kb4 Qb5+ 77.Ka3 Qd3+. Gelfand played 68. d5 instead but still only drew.

Troitsky versus Vogt

In Troitsky–, 1896, the famous endgame study composer Alexey Troitsky pulled off an elegant swindle in actual play. After Troitsky's 1. Rd1!, Black fell into the trap with the seemingly crushing 1... Bh3?, threatening 2...Qg2#. The game concluded 2. Rxd8+ Kxd8 3. Qd1+! Qxd1 stalemate. White's bishop, knight, and f-pawn are all pinned and unable to move.

In studies

Stalemate is a frequent theme in endgame studies and other chess compositions. An example is the "White to Play and Draw" study at right, composed by the American master Frederick Rhine and published in 2006. White saves a draw with 1. Ne5+! Black wins after 1.Nb4+? Kb5! or 1.Qe8+? Bxe8 2.Ne5+ Kb5! 3.Rxb2+ Nb3. 1... Bxe5 After 1...Kb5? 2.Rxb2+ Nb3 3.Rxc4! Qxe3 4.Rxb3+! Qxb3 5.Qh1! Bf5+ 6.Kd8!, White is winning. 2. Qe8+! 2.Qxe5? Qb7+ 3.Kd8 Qd7#. 2... Bxe8 3. Rh6+ Bd6 3...Kb5 4.Rxb6+ Kxb6 5.Nxc4+ also leads to a drawn endgame. Not 5.Rxb2+? Bxb2 6.Nc4+ Kb5 7.Nxb2 Bh5! trapping White's knight. 4. Rxd6+! Kxd6 5. Nxc4+! Nxc4 6. Rxb6+ Nxb6+ Moving the king is actually a better try, but the resulting endgame of two knights and a bishop against a rook is a well-established theoretical draw. 7. Kd8! Black is three pieces ahead, but if White is allowed to take the bishop, the two knights are insufficient to force checkmate. The only way to save the bishop is to move it, resulting in stalemate. A similar idea occasionally enables the inferior side to save a draw in the ending of bishop, knight, and king versus lone king.
At right is a composition by A. J. Roycroft which was published in the British Chess Magazine in 1957. White draws with 1. c7! after which there are two main lines:
  • 1... f5 2. c8=Q '2... Bc3 3. Qxf5+ draws by stalemate.
  • 1... g5 2. c8=R 2... Ka1 3. Rc2!! 3... Bc4 4. Rc1+ Ka2 5. Ra1+ Kb3 6. Ra3+ Kc2 7. Rc3+ Kd2 8. Rc2+'. As in Evans–Reshevsky, Black cannot escape the "eternal rook".