When and How to Draw in Chess? (Part 1)

Hi all,

Today we are going to talk about draws. Most players believe that we should always focus on winning. It is indeed true but it has a few exceptions.

When should we draw?

So, first of all when and why should we start trying to draw instead of trying to win? So, if you see your opponent is offering you trades, if you are trying to draw accept the trades as long as both of you are having equal materials. Trying to draw doesn't mean you won't checkmate your opponet when you get the chance, it means you should play extreamly defencively and try to simplify the position as much as you can. So, how does it help? If you are playing defencively and able to turn the games into draw, your rating stays approximately equal. If you are playing aggesively, the way there is chance of winning, there is a chance of losing also. Now, the question arises when exactly should we try to draw? Try doing it especially when you are playing against an opponent who's rating is way higher than yours. Also think of this situation, let say you are playing a tournament and now its the last round. You are having 4 points (lets say) after winning all previous games and all of the tough competitors has 3 points. Now, if you play aggresively but end up losing, there will be more people with 4 points in that round. But if you play defensively and manage at least a draw, then also 4.5>4 and you will still get the first place.

Now, I will tell you tricks to draw a game.

1) Stalemate

A stalemate occurs when the player to move doesn't have any legal moves. The opposition is a classic example of stalemate.

Now, here when you are having extremely bad position, you should try to get stalemated. Now, here are a couple of puzzles about forcing a stalemate.

I hope these puzzles will be helpful to you. But these kind of scenarios are a bit rare when you can force a stalemate. Some times you need to rely a bit on luck. We will discuss about that in the part 2 of 'When and How to Draw in Chess?'.

2) Draw by Insufficient Material

If neither of the players have the minimum pieces required to checkmate their opponent, then the game is declared draw. The minimum required materials are:

1. King and 1 Queen
2. King and 1 Rook
3. King and 2 Bishops, here both bishops should be on different coloured squares, bishops on same coloured squares(by pawn promotion) can't force checkmate.
4. King, 1 Bishop and 1 Knight
5. King and a Pawn (as a pawn can promote to a queen or a rook)

A classic example would be another line of opposition only:-

Fun fact: If your opponent only has king and you have two knights, you can't force a checkmate but if your opponent has a pawn as well, then it can be possible to checkmate the opponent. 

So, another couple of puzzles for this one...

These puzzle are extreamly easy simply because of the fact that insufficient material needs an almost empty board.

3) 50 Move Rule

Its states that for 50 consequtive moves, if no pawn is moved or no piece is captured, then either player can claim a draw.

Also, there is a similar rule known as 75 move rule. It states that if for 75 consequtive moves, if no pawn is moved or no piece is captured, then the game is drawn by the arbiter (Even if the players don't claim it), unless the 75th move is a checkmate.

Draw by 50 move rule can come in game mostly by luck and there is no requirment of doing puzzles for this one. E.g. Let's say you only have your king and your opponent has a bishop and a knight. Checkmating with these two pieces is extreamly complicated. So, if your opponent is unable to checkmate you within 50 moves, you can claim a draw and avoid losing the game.

So, that's all for today. In part 2 we will discuss about some other ways of drawing a game, e.g. threefold repeitition, perpetual check, time up with insufficient material etc. We will also talk about the factor of luck. For reading the part 2 of this blog, click here: https://www.chess.com/blog/Pradipta22/when-and-how-to-draw-in-chess-part-2

Please let me know in case you are having any suggetions or feedback or if you want me to write about any specific topic. Thank you.