what does it mean to draw by insuff material?

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steveqi

surprise

HGMuller

It means that with all the material left on the board no checkmate position exists at all, even if both players would do all they can to create one.

steveqi

thanks

manekapa

https://support.chess.com/article/268-my-opponent-ran-out-of-time-why-was-it-a-draw

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeebbs
This is when it isn’t possible to checkmate with the pieces that are currently on board (e.g: knight, bishop, or 2 knights)
manekapa

https://support.chess.com/article/128-what-does-insufficient-mating-material-mean

PedroG1464

It means you’ve reached a position where checkmate is not possible because you don’t have enough pieces to possibly deliver a checkmate. For example, if you have a king and a bishop VS a king, it’s insufficient material because a king and a bishop can’t checkmate together alone; another piece is needed. However, if the bishop were a rook, it would not be insufficient material and instead a forced checkmate because a rook and a king can deliver checkmate together.

AngryPuffer
manekapa
AngryPuffer wrote:
 

That checkmate was made possible by black's bishop blocking the king. It's known as a helpmate.

A king + knight are considered insufficient material by chess.com because they can't force a checkmate without help from the opponent.