Live chess issue

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Avatar of rongchen

Hi, there seems to be some bug in the live chess in 2-1 settings. I had a game (see blow), which I should have won on time (my opponent's clock reached 0) but instead the system says insufficient material and thus a draw?!

http://www.chess.com/livechess/game.html?id=281137474

Can someone please confirm this is a known issue or not, and if it would be fixed soon. Thanks!

Avatar of TadDude

Not a bug. The site declares insufficient material regardless of helpmate possibilities. Assumes internet players would be trying to win on time rather than by normal means.

See ย http://support.chess.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/40/0/how-do-i-claim-a-draw

"Finally, note that in cases where the opponent has insufficient material to mate (lone King, King + Knight, King + Bishop, King + 2 Knights) a draw will be automatically declared where there is a time-out."

Avatar of rongchen

Your last statement is indeed very interesting. If I understand it correctly, it could actually mean that if black doesn't have enough material to mate white, white will NEVER lose on time. The worst could happen is that a draw will be declared when white's clock reaches zero.ย 

I wasn't aware of that previously. Thanks for mentioning it.

Avatar of Skwerly

Yes! If the losing side (the side with no mating material) runs out of time, the game is drawn.

ย 

If the winning side runs out of time, game is lost. The rationale is that the winning side should have won.ย  :)