Question

I have a question about chess.

What is the definition of Stalemate?

What is the definition of Draw?

Thanks!

Stalemate is when one side has no legal moves to make.  For instance, when the king is the only piece you can move, but is not currently in check, but all available spaces it could move would place it in check.  Or, the king is blocked by friendly pieces, or opposing pieces which can't be captured without putting the king in check. 

A draw is when both sides agree to stop playing because neither side can see a clear victory, there is insufficient material to win the game (such as each side having just a king), the same moves are repeated 3 times, one side makes 50 moves without moving a pawn or capturing a piece (such as perpetual check), or a stalemate occurs.

Check out the Laws of Chess.  Article 9 covers draws.

Article 5 defines all the ways in which a chess game can end, including stalemate and the other ways to draw.  Article 5 is more what you're looking for I think.

Thanks! 

I have another question for you, so let me go find it.

All stalemates are draws,

but not all draws are stalemates.

What does this mean?

It means stalemates are draws, and there are other ways to draw a chess game.

Please explain.

I need a long explanation.  Thanks :D

Concentrate.

All stalemates are draws:  This means that every instance of stalemate will result in a draw.  If a player cannot make a legal move, then he/she has no moves to make and thus the game is a draw.  If stalemate occurs, it is a draw 100% of the time.

For example:

In this game, if black promotes hit pawn to a queen, then the game is a draw by stalemate because white cannot move any pawns and cannot move the king without putting it into check.

Not all draws are stalemate: There are multiple ways to draw a game.  A game can end in a draw if:

1. Both players agree to end the game in a draw, for various reasons.

2. The same sequence of moves are repeated 3 times in a row.

For example in this game:

After...

33. Qd8+ Kg7  34. Qg5+ Kf8  35. Qd8+ Kg7  36. Qg5+ Kf8  37. Qd8+ Kg7  38. Qg5+ Kf8

A player can claim a draw because the same sequence of moves was repeated 3 times.  This commonly happens because neither player wants to make an inferior move that would weaken their position.

3. A player cannot stop their opponent from checking their king (perpetual check).

For example in this game:

Black cannot escape check by white via...

1. Qe8+ Kh7  2. Qh5+ Kg8  3. Qe8+ Kh7  4. Qh5+ Kg8  5. etc...

So the game results in a draw.

4. If a player makes 50 consecutive moves without a pawn move or a capture, then that player can claim a draw.

For example in this position:

Even though its possible for black to checkmate the white king, it is very difficult to do.  If black cannot mate white in 50 moves, then white can declare this game a draw.

5. If both black and white do not have enough pieces to checkmate the opponent, then the game is a draw by insufficient material.

For example in this position:

The game is a draw because white cannot checkmate the black king with only a bishop.

So basically, not all draws are stalemates because there are 5 different ways to draw a game.

Thanks!