How exactly would some one, in any position, play for a draw?

What if your down on material though your position is still good, though there is no hope of winning...

What would be some objectives to keep in mind... any specific stategies? other than draw by repitition.

fury_pk> How exactly would some one, in any position, play for a draw?

• Play drawish opening lines.
  
• Aim for symmetry, with neither imbalances nor complications.
  
• Simplify when it's possible and not disadvantageous.
• Repeat positions.
• Play a perpertual check combination if you get a chance.
• Aim for a drawn endgame.
  

trade off is my advice

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bf4 Bf5 7. e3 e6 8. Bd3
Bxd3 9. Qxd3 usually means White is content with a draw.

If Black is also content with a draw, he plays 9...Bd6 10.Bxd6 Qxd6.

If Black wants to try for a win, he plays 9...Be7.

Hmm...  If you're down material, it would depend on the number of pawns and pieces on the board.  If it's in the endgame, I should think you'd have to try to even the playing field in some way, either by equalizing material or gaining a time advantage, making you're opponent more likely to accept a draw offer.  If the board's still very crowded, I would try to keep it that way--avoid trading off pieces and close up the position.  Long chains of pawns are particularly hard to do anything useful against, even if one does have a small material advantage (I had played some games illustrating this, but I can't access them in the database anymore... could someone else post games like what I just described?  Well, here's a diagram). 

Correction:  The white bishop should be on f2, not g2, for the position to be drawn.  Thanks for the analysis, tonydal (see comments below).

If the position is even, do everything you can to keep the position even while trading off material.  Be weary of trading off material if it gives your opponent a slight positional advantage--the advantage may or may not be enough to win.

The above position should already be agreed a draw, unless you're playing some annoying guy in 5 min blitz who's got 10 more seconds than you.

Actually, NotKasparov, in your first diagram, although it is quite blockaded, White can win by moving his bishop in behind the Black queenside pawns. For example, put the White bishop on f7 in this position. Now on 1... Kc6 there's 2 Be8+ Kb6 3 Bd7 Ka6 4 Be6. There is also a win it looks like with 1 Bxd5 Kxd5 2 Ke3 Kd6 3 Ke4 Ke6 4 d5+ Kd6 5 Kd4 followed by 6 Kc5 (the idea being not to take on b5, but to force Black's king back).  It is true though that if White's bishop was on dark squares in the original position it would be a dead draw, because then the bishop would hardly have any pawns to attack.

Wow, judging by likeforests's post it looks like I think I'm playing for a draw every game!  Best learn some more attacking openings!

Sure it can, scarjo (and even if it couldn't, the other line I gave also wins).

Thanks for the correction, tonydal. 

scarjo:  After maneuvering to c2, the white bishop is in position to jump behind black's pawns. 

Sorry that I only responded to this now, I was visiting Civil War battlefields in Virginia (it looks like I'm seeing the post-cheater_1 battlefield right now!).

I'm putting the position into my Chessmaster, so I'll post the game it comes up with in a little while, but your analysis seems to be correct.

thanks for all the posts, I never would have seen how to get that bishop through! very nice. this opens up so much more, too...