Stalemates usually (but not necessarily) occur near the end of games when few pieces and pawns are left on the chessboard. Some consider and call a stalemate a draw, but while it is the equivalent to a draw from point value, the position on a chessboard is given its own special label. Now let us turn to the two alternative objectives.Ī game also may end in a tie via a draw or a stalemate – each of which are worth a 1/2 point to each player. Many beginners (and indeed even more experienced players) will “battle to the bitter end” but, the better part of valor in such a situation is for the player to employ good chess etiquette and resign, going onto another game in the hopes of winning another game when all is lost in the game being played. One aspect of good chess playing is to recognize when to simply resign a game because the opponent has an overwhelming advantage that it is only a matter of time before the player will be crushed in the defeat of a checkmate. A checkmate or winning by resignation is worth one (1) point and a loss is worth zero (0) points in tournament play. A resignation may occur by the player announcing he is resigning, or a more “traditional” manner of simply turning his or her King over on the chessboard. In addition to being checkmated, a player may resign a game with the same effect as a checkmate – the other player wins. A more serious variation for the failure to call a checkmate if the players agree is for the other player to win the game! Fortunately, when playing on the Internet or with computer chess games, the program calls the checkmate for the player. If he or she does not, the other player may call the checkmate and the game ends in a draw. There can be a very important exception to the rule for checkmate: in playing a chess game face-to-face more commonly called “ over the board” or abbreviated OTB – sometimes a player must verbally state checkmate immediately upon making the attacking move which results in the above situation.
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