There are different situations with their own rules. Is this:
On chess.com?
In an OTB blitz tournament?
In a standard OTB tournament?
Question re: draws and time
Sort:
I was assuming a standard tournament with FIDE rules. Would it be different for blitz?
Two knights + king vs king is a theoretical draw, so I don't see why a draw should not be given.
On online blitz though, the computer does not recognize it as a draw since a checkmate is technically possible. So even if you "claim" the draw, you'll still need your opponent to accept the draw offer. Therefore, your opponent woudl have the option of continuing the game in order to prolong it and win on time. That would be a dick move though.
I had the impression that the FIDE rules re: short time and draws referred only to instances in which a checkmate was not possible under ANY circumstances. Thus, a two knights scenario would not qualify.
http://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=124&view=article
Article 10: Quickplay Finish
|
10.1 |
A ‘quickplay finish’ is the phase of a game when all the (remaining) moves must be made in a limited time. |
|
|
10.2 |
If the player, having the move, has less than two minutes left on his clock, he may claim a draw before his flag falls. He shall summon the arbiter and may stop the clocks. (See Article 6.12.b) |
|
|
a. |
If the arbiter agrees the opponent is making no effort to win the game by normal means, or that it is not possible to win by normal means, then he shall declare the game drawn. Otherwise he shall postpone his decision or reject the claim. |
|
|
b. |
If the arbiter postpones his decision, the opponent may be awarded two extra minutes and the game shall continue, if possible in the presence of an arbiter. The arbiter shall declare the final result later in the game or as soon as possible after a flag has fallen. He shall declare the game drawn if he agrees that the final position cannot be won by normal means, or that the opponent was not making sufficient attempts to win by normal means. |
|
|
c. |
If the arbiter has rejected the claim, the opponent shall be awarded two extra minutes time. |
|
|
d. |
The decision of the arbiter shall be final relating to (a), (b) and (c). |
|
Say I have a lone king while my opponent has a king and two knights; also assume that I'm short on time (perhaps a few seconds) and there's no increment. If my opponent refuses to make a draw, do I have to play the game out until I lose on time? The FIDE rules seem to provide for the opposite situation (if the player with two knights is short on time), but not for this scenario...am I misreading something? The "normal means" clause is somewhat ambiguous.