Sometimes, the result is clear. However, there are situations in which some players are confused about the result or the reason the Chess game ended early.
Here are eight common ways to finish a chess game to help you understand these situations.
Win/Lose:
Checkmate, resignation, and timeout are the three main tactics used to win or lose a game of chess. For example, view the games and movies listed below.
Checkmate
Checkmate is one of the most popular ways to end a game of chess. This happens when a player threatens the other player’s king, stopping it from moving to any further squares, from being shielded by another piece, and from being captured by the checking piece.
If any one of these requirements is satisfied, the checkmate benefits the attacking player.
Can you figure out how Black won checkmate with a single move?
Resignation
While checkmate is the final result in some games, it’s not the case in many others.
Sometimes, a player quits the game rather than finishing it out because they think they will soon be checkmated. As you can see in the game that follows, the player with the black pieces resigns since the checkmate is about to occur following White’s move.
There are moments when we mistakenly think we are losing. The super-grandmaster Anish Giri was facing off against 2018 U.S. chess champion Sam Shankland in the Tata Steel
Chess Masters competition, when Shankland resigned in a relied position!
Timeout
A chess game may be sadly lost by timeout. If you have a checkmate in one move or an important edge on the board is irrelevant. If your opponent has enough material to force a checkmate, you will automatically lose the game if you run out of time. Even if you were ahead, the game is a draw if your opponent does not have enough material for a checkmate and you run out of time.
It’s crucial to control your time and use it wisely throughout the game.
Another way that a timeout happens is when a player cuts off from the server. In this case, the disconnected player is given a timeout loss.
Draw:
Chess games can be won or lost in a wide range of methods but draws can be trickier to figure out. It might be challenging for those who are just starting to play chess to understand rules like stalemate or insufficient material. These clarifications should help to clarify matters.
Stalemate
White has one additional pawn in the example below. However, if White attempts to push it to the end, it leaves the black king with no possible plays,
resulting in a stalemate and a draw in the game.
Not Sufficient Material
At the end of the game, there are situations in which one player has more pieces than the other. That isn’t always sufficient to win, though, as certain set layouts prevent checkmate.
When neither side has “sufficient material” to force a checkmate, the game becomes a draw.
Move-rule 50
If no pawn has been moved or no capture has been made in the last 50 moves, either player may declare a draw under the 50-move rule.
Today’s chess match could not have been the longest ever played since it would have finished in a draw significantly sooner. Before, 100 moves could be made without a capture or pawn move.
The Repetition
According to the threefold repetition rule, each player may declare a draw during a position that appears three times in a game. The purpose of this control was to prevent games from constantly constant because players were always doing the same actions. This draw occurs automatically after the third repetition in online play.
Agreement
There is a draw-by-agreement when both players agree they would like to draw the game. This is typically due to the belief that neither player can get an advantage.
However, quick draws in games where both players desire a draw because of a tournament situation can get problematic.
Do you have questions about how to end a game of chess? Tell us in the comments section below.