I did not know this rule and it is an important rule to know. I thank ED59 for teaching this to me and enlightening me to this. I have always been aware of a draw by repetition when the players continue to move to and fro the same places 3 times. I did not know that these 3 times do not need to be consecutive. please read this information as it is a worthy thing to know, and to use when needed.
In chess and some other abstract strategy games, the threefold repetition rule (also known as repetition of position) states that a player can claim a draw if the same position occurs three times, or will occur after their next move, with the same player to move. The repeated positions do not need to occur in succession. The idea behind the rule is that if the position occurs three times, no progress is being made.
In chess, in order for a position to be considered the same, each player must have the same set of legal moves each time, including the possible rights to castle and captureen passant. Positions are considered the same if the same type of piece is on a given square. So, for instance, if a player has two knights and the knights are on the same squares, it does not matter if the positions of the two knights have been exchanged. The game is not automatically drawn if a position occurs for the third time – one of the players, on their move turn, must claim the draw with the arbiter.
In shogi, a fourfold repetition (千日手 sennichite) is required to end in a draw. Each player must have the same pieces in hand as well as the same position on the board. The result is a draw.
The relevant rule in the FIDE laws of chess is 9.2, which reads:
The game is drawn, upon a correct claim by the player having the move, when the same position, for at least the third time (not necessarily by sequential repetition of moves)
a. is about to appear, if he first writes his move on his scoresheet and declares to the arbiter his intention to make this move, or
b. has just appeared, and the player claiming the draw has the move.
Positions as in (a) and (b) are considered the same, if the same player has the move, pieces of the same kind and color occupy the same squares, and the possible moves of all the pieces of both players are the same.
Positions are not [considered to be] the same if a pawn that could have been captured en passant can no longer be captured or if the right to castle has been changed. (FIDE 2005, Article 9.2)
While the rule does not require that the position occur three times on nearly consecutive moves, it happens this way very often in practice, typically with one of the kings being put into perpetual check. The intermediate positions and moves do not matter – they can be the same or different. The rule applies to positions, not moves.
If the claim for a draw is incorrect, the opponent is awarded an extra two minutes and the game continues.[1] Unreasonable claims may be penalized pursuant to article 12.6 which forbids distracting or annoying the opponent. Even if the claim is incorrect, any draw claim is also a draw offer that the opponent may accept.[2]
Draws by this method used to be uncommon (Brace 1977:236).
Position after 30.Qe2, after 32.Qe2, and after 34.Qe2
In the third game[6] of the 1971 Candidates Final Match between Bobby Fischerand Tigran Petrosian, Petrosian (with a better position) accidentally allowed the position after 30.Qe2 to be repeated three times (see diagram). Play continued:
30... Qe5
31. Qh5 Qf6
32. Qe2 (second time) Re5
33. Qd3 Rd5?
and then Fischer wrote his next move
34. Qe2 (third time)
on his scoresheet, which is the third appearance of the position with Black to move, and he claimed a draw.[7] At first Petrosian was not aware of what was going on. Incidentally, this was the first time a draw by threefold repetition had been claimed in his career (Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005:283–84), (Kasparov 2004:422–23), (Byrne 1971:682). This also illustrates that the intermediate moves do not need to be the same – just the positions.
Players sometimes repeat a position once not in order to draw, but to gain time on the clock (when an increment is being used) or to bring themselves closer to the time control (at which point they will receive more time). Occasionally, players miscount and inadvertently repeat the position more than once, thus allowing their opponent to claim a draw in an unfavourable position.Adams versus Ponomariov, Wijk aan Zee 2005 may have been a recent example of this (Friedel 2005).
The position after 34...h5 and again after 36...Kf8 and 38...Kf8. A draw was not claimed.
As noted above, one of the players must claim a draw by threefold repetition for the rule to be applied, otherwise the game continues. In the fifth game[8] of the 1921World Chess Championship match between José Raúl Capablanca and Emanuel Lasker, the same position occurred three times, but no draw was claimed. From the position in the diagram, after 34...h5, the moves were:
35. Qd8+ Kg7
36. Qg5+ Kf8 (second time)
37. Qd8+ Kg7
38. Qg5+ Kf8 (third time)
The game continued; Lasker blundered and resigned on move 46. Capablanca repeated the position to gain time on the clock (i.e. get in some quick moves beforetime control) (Kasparov 2003:266–67). (Capablanca went on to win the match and became world champion.)
Okay, I found the answer for how Chess.com handles it. If you see a threefold repetition, you may claim a draw and your opponent has no change to decline. It does not automatically claim a draw for you. Good to know if you ever get into one of those scenarios.
I did not know this rule and it is an important rule to know. I thank ED59 for teaching this to me and enlightening me to this. I have always been aware of a draw by repetition when the players continue to move to and fro the same places 3 times. I did not know that these 3 times do not need to be consecutive. please read this information as it is a worthy thing to know, and to use when needed.
Keven
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threefold_repetition
Threefold repetition
In chess and some other abstract strategy games, the threefold repetition rule (also known as repetition of position) states that a player can claim a draw if the same position occurs three times, or will occur after their next move, with the same player to move. The repeated positions do not need to occur in succession. The idea behind the rule is that if the position occurs three times, no progress is being made.
In chess, in order for a position to be considered the same, each player must have the same set of legal moves each time, including the possible rights to castle and capture en passant. Positions are considered the same if the same type of piece is on a given square. So, for instance, if a player has two knights and the knights are on the same squares, it does not matter if the positions of the two knights have been exchanged. The game is not automatically drawn if a position occurs for the third time – one of the players, on their move turn, must claim the draw with the arbiter.
In shogi, a fourfold repetition (千日手 sennichite) is required to end in a draw. Each player must have the same pieces in hand as well as the same position on the board. The result is a draw.
Contents
[hide]The rule[edit]
The relevant rule in the FIDE laws of chess is 9.2, which reads:
While the rule does not require that the position occur three times on nearly consecutive moves, it happens this way very often in practice, typically with one of the kings being put into perpetual check. The intermediate positions and moves do not matter – they can be the same or different. The rule applies to positions, not moves.
If the claim for a draw is incorrect, the opponent is awarded an extra two minutes and the game continues.[1] Unreasonable claims may be penalized pursuant to article 12.6 which forbids distracting or annoying the opponent. Even if the claim is incorrect, any draw claim is also a draw offer that the opponent may accept.[2]
Draws by this method used to be uncommon (Brace 1977:236).
Examples[edit]
The seventeenth,[3] eighteenth,[4] and twentieth[5] games of the 1972 World Championship match between Bobby Fischer andBoris Spassky were declared draws because of threefold repetition, although the twentieth game was an incorrect claim (seeincorrect claims below).
Fischer versus Petrosian, 1971[edit]
In the third game[6] of the 1971 Candidates Final Match between Bobby Fischerand Tigran Petrosian, Petrosian (with a better position) accidentally allowed the position after 30.Qe2 to be repeated three times (see diagram). Play continued:
and then Fischer wrote his next move
on his scoresheet, which is the third appearance of the position with Black to move, and he claimed a draw.[7] At first Petrosian was not aware of what was going on. Incidentally, this was the first time a draw by threefold repetition had been claimed in his career (Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005:283–84), (Kasparov 2004:422–23), (Byrne 1971:682). This also illustrates that the intermediate moves do not need to be the same – just the positions.
Adams versus Ponomariov, 2005[edit]
Players sometimes repeat a position once not in order to draw, but to gain time on the clock (when an increment is being used) or to bring themselves closer to the time control (at which point they will receive more time). Occasionally, players miscount and inadvertently repeat the position more than once, thus allowing their opponent to claim a draw in an unfavourable position.Adams versus Ponomariov, Wijk aan Zee 2005 may have been a recent example of this (Friedel 2005).
Capablanca versus Lasker, 1921[edit]
As noted above, one of the players must claim a draw by threefold repetition for the rule to be applied, otherwise the game continues. In the fifth game[8] of the 1921World Chess Championship match between José Raúl Capablanca and Emanuel Lasker, the same position occurred three times, but no draw was claimed. From the position in the diagram, after 34...h5, the moves were:
The game continued; Lasker blundered and resigned on move 46. Capablanca repeated the position to gain time on the clock (i.e. get in some quick moves beforetime control) (Kasparov 2003:266–67). (Capablanca went on to win the match and became world champion.)
Alekhine versus Lasker, 1914[edit]
A very relevant rule. Good post. I am not sure how Chess.com deals with this rule. Does anyone know if they go for automatic draw on this?
Okay, I found the answer for how Chess.com handles it. If you see a threefold repetition, you may claim a draw and your opponent has no change to decline. It does not automatically claim a draw for you. Good to know if you ever get into one of those scenarios.