Stalemate, Perpetual Check and Draws in Chess
In the twelfth and final stage, your child learns the other ways a game can end besides checkmate: resignation, stalemate, perpetual check and other draws. The stage is made up of short videos, explanations and 32 exercises on an interactive board.
What’s in this stage
- When a game ends without checkmate: resignation
- What is stalemate — 13 exercises
- What is perpetual check — 7 exercises
- Other draws: by agreement and when checkmate is impossible
- Test yourself: stalemate and perpetual check — 12 exercises
Total: 32 exercises
When a game ends without checkmate: resignation
Not every game ends in checkmate. If the position is hopeless, because the opponent has a decisive advantage or an unstoppable attack, a player can resign without waiting to be checkmated. The player who resigns loses.
What is stalemate
Stalemate is a position in which the player whose turn it is has no legal move, and their king is not in check. Stalemate is a draw, even if the opponent has a huge advantage. The difference between checkmate and stalemate: in checkmate the king is in check, in stalemate it isn’t. That’s why, when you’re winning, you have to make sure you don’t stalemate the opponent instead of checkmating them.
What is perpetual check
Perpetual check is a series of checks the opponent can’t escape from, even though there is no checkmate. The position repeats, and the game ends in a draw: when the same position occurs three times, a player has the right to claim a draw. This is how the losing side can save the game.
Other draws: by agreement and when checkmate is impossible
A game can end in a draw by agreement: one player offers a draw and the other accepts. A game is also drawn when checkmate is impossible: only the two kings are left, or a king and a knight or a king and a bishop against a lone king.
Test yourself: stalemate and perpetual check
A mix of exercises on stalemate and perpetual check. This is the final stage of the course.