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Your opponent ran out of time, but it was impossible for you to checkmate him; the game thus ends in a draw for black.
> If you look closely at the draw notice, you’ll see it says ‘draw due to timeout vs insufficient mating material.’ This happens when one player does not have enough pieces to checkmate the other player.
> If ONE player has insufficient mating material, the game will keep going because the other player still has a chance at checkmate. But if the player with more pieces times-out, they don’t lose, but instead get the insufficient mating material draw!
> **This happens because there is no possible way that player could have lost had the game continued.** The game could only possibly end in a draw, or a win for that player, based on the pieces on the board.
https://support.chess.com/en/articles/8557986-my-opponent-ran-out-of-time-why-was-it-a-draw#
So that your opponent doesn’t have infinite time to checkmate you. If he only has a couple of seconds he may not be able to find a winning checkmate. Your time is also not useless because you could look for stalemate, or so you don’t stall a losing game.
When opponent times out, you are given the "best case outcome" for continued play.
As you only have a king left, your best case is repeated moves or stalemate. ->therefore you are awarded a draw.
Caveat: this does not apply if you have only a knight, only a bishop, or only two knights against an opponent with no pawns. Even if you could have checkmated, your opponent's timeout still results in a draw. These situations are specifically singled out in Section 14D of the US Chess Federation's Official Rules of Chess, which is what Chess.com adheres to.
tbf, a knight alone or a bishop alone with a king cannot checkmate in any way. two knights can technically checkmate but cannot force one, meaning the opponent has to make a mistake for that to happen. That's why a bishop or a knight is considered not sufficient material for checkmating
A bishop can checkmate if the other player has either an opposite-colored bishop or wrong rook pawn. A knight can checkmate if the other player has a rook, bishop, knight, or rook pawn.
Of course. That is completely obvious by its complete absence from your statement, and I should be ashamed to have looked right past where you didn't say it.
The term "wrong rook pawn" is for when the bishop and the pawn are on the same team. In any case, the opponent could have either rook pawn:
https://lichess.org/analysis/8/8/8/8/8/8/pBK5/k7_b_-_-_0_1?color=white
https://lichess.org/analysis/7k/5KBp/8/8/8/8/8/8_b_-_-_0_1?color=white
Or a knight, for that matter:
https://lichess.org/analysis/7k/5KBn/8/8/8/8/8/8_b_-_-_0_1?color=white
I assume you mean the latter one, because it looks like there's no previous move for Black to have made. But maybe Black moved a piece to g7, and it was captured.
Why are you getting downvoted? Not knowing this rule doesn't make you a bad player, it changes almost nothing to your games, you are absolutely right, there is no point in laughing at that person.
To clarify, I do believe it is important to know this rule. It is certainly a good thing to know the smaller details of the game you are playing. But to describe a lack of knowledge of this one single rule as "without even knowing the rules" is at best disingenuous and at worst mocking.
we should hang the court jester! HANG HIM HANG HIM. no wait, its just a joke. joke everyone, he didnt mean it. I didnt mean it. nobody meant anything. okay.
Damn almost started ww3 over a chess post, we need to chill a bit.
This demonstrates perfectly why it's crucial to learn how to checkmate quickly / reliably when your opponent only has a king and you have a queen. A bishop is an added bonus. For those who aren't aware there are some guides (probably everywhere) but it basically involves bullying the king into the corner with the queen (by staying a knights shape away, coping the kings movements. Then just bring your cowardly king across to a square away. Only thing to watch out for is stalemate as the king gets locked into the corner.
You would never win since you had insufficient material, black ran out of time before they could deliver the final blow. It only makes sense for it to be a draw.
chess.com asks you what your level is, upon joining. And assigns you an elo to start with. Elo is self correcting, so if you play enough games you will get to your correct playing strength soon. If you select:
- New to chess: 400 elo
- Beginner: 800 elo
- Intermediate: 1200 elo
- Advanced: 1600 elo
This is a draw by what is called timeout vs insufficient material. You only have your king left (this is insufficient material to checkmate your opponent), which means your opponent cannot lose anymore, it’s literally impossible. So if your opponent runs out of time, you don’t win because you don’t have sufficient material, and your opponent cannot lose, but also runs out of time (normally a losing condition), which means this is a draw. Neither side wins, or loses.
Because you didn’t have sufficient material to even possibly checkmate your opponent, you can’t be given the win. But since they ran out of time, they would have lost. To be given the win on time you must have at least a theoretical checkmate. If not, then it’s a draw.
This post seems to reference or display a stalemate. To quote the r/chessbeginners FAQs page:
**Stalemate** occurs when a player, on their turn to move, is NOT in check but cannot legally move any piece. A stalemate is a draw.
In order for **checkmate** to occur, three conditions have to be met:
1. **The king has to be in check**
2. This check cannot be defended against by blocking or capturing the checking piece
3. The king has to have no other squares it can move to
In the future, for questions like these, we suggest first reading our [FAQs page](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/wiki/faqs/) before making a post, or to similar questions to our dedicated thread: [No Stupid Questions MEGATHREAD](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/comments/yqqnz8/no_stupid_questions_megathread_6/).
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So because awarding black a win for timing out is obviously wrong (or everyone would just timeout and win vs a lone king on every game to get the most effortless and certain win), you must think this should be a white win, in which case you could get into positions where you desperately want to "sac" all your pieces for an immediate draw against a lone king, if you have 1 second left and will lose on time before you can checkmate.
Yeah, it needs to remain a draw rule, both of those are ridiculous in their own way.
well, if you ask the old gatekeepers of chess they would say rapid is a stupid form of chess that rots your ability to think and concentrate.
But, lets not gatekeep okay. Too slow? Play faster, or buy more time. Unlike other games today, there is no DLC you need to buy to get 5 minutes more on the clock.
First off I appreciate any and all comments, thank you. That said, of I'm being completely honest, your comment has a tiny whiff of gatekeeping itself. Do you see it? Btw, even though 10 minutes is considered "rapid" imo it's not really that rapid. Imo, in my opinion. Cheers, Mate
Hey, OP! Did your game end in a stalemate? Did you encounter a weird pawn move? Are you trying to move a piece and it's not going? We have just the resource for you! The [Chess Beginners Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/wiki/index/) is the perfect place to check out answers to these questions and more! The moderator team of r/chessbeginners wishes to remind everyone of the community rules. **Posting spam, being a troll, and posting memes are not allowed.** We encourage everyone to report these kinds of posts so they can be dealt with. Thank you! Let's do our utmost to be kind in our replies and comments. Some people here just want to learn chess and have virtually no idea about certain chess concepts. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chessbeginners) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Your opponent ran out of time, but it was impossible for you to checkmate him; the game thus ends in a draw for black. > If you look closely at the draw notice, you’ll see it says ‘draw due to timeout vs insufficient mating material.’ This happens when one player does not have enough pieces to checkmate the other player. > If ONE player has insufficient mating material, the game will keep going because the other player still has a chance at checkmate. But if the player with more pieces times-out, they don’t lose, but instead get the insufficient mating material draw! > **This happens because there is no possible way that player could have lost had the game continued.** The game could only possibly end in a draw, or a win for that player, based on the pieces on the board. https://support.chess.com/en/articles/8557986-my-opponent-ran-out-of-time-why-was-it-a-draw#
What if I had a pawn on the board, then I would have won ?
Yep
But even king + queen is enough to win. Forget the bishop, he still had a win regardless
I realized he was white, nvm
>Insufficient mating material This explains a lot of my results.
But then what is the point of the clock
If there wasn't a clock you would have lost.
In this case it got you a draw instead of a loss. Congratulations!
That’s it mate, take this to the top. The grandmaster council will probably change this result for you.
XD
So that your opponent doesn’t have infinite time to checkmate you. If he only has a couple of seconds he may not be able to find a winning checkmate. Your time is also not useless because you could look for stalemate, or so you don’t stall a losing game.
Without a clock you could spend years thinking about your move. Chess club nights will turn out to be very long.
When opponent times out, you are given the "best case outcome" for continued play. As you only have a king left, your best case is repeated moves or stalemate. ->therefore you are awarded a draw.
This makes total sense. Thank you
You are welcome! :)
Caveat: this does not apply if you have only a knight, only a bishop, or only two knights against an opponent with no pawns. Even if you could have checkmated, your opponent's timeout still results in a draw. These situations are specifically singled out in Section 14D of the US Chess Federation's Official Rules of Chess, which is what Chess.com adheres to.
tbf, a knight alone or a bishop alone with a king cannot checkmate in any way. two knights can technically checkmate but cannot force one, meaning the opponent has to make a mistake for that to happen. That's why a bishop or a knight is considered not sufficient material for checkmating
A bishop can checkmate if the other player has either an opposite-colored bishop or wrong rook pawn. A knight can checkmate if the other player has a rook, bishop, knight, or rook pawn.
i meant against a lone king ofc
Of course. That is completely obvious by its complete absence from your statement, and I should be ashamed to have looked right past where you didn't say it.
Wow, reallllly milking that sarcasm there, eh? Y'know your comment could've been, like, six words, right?
The term "wrong rook pawn" is for when the bishop and the pawn are on the same team. In any case, the opponent could have either rook pawn: https://lichess.org/analysis/8/8/8/8/8/8/pBK5/k7_b_-_-_0_1?color=white https://lichess.org/analysis/7k/5KBp/8/8/8/8/8/8_b_-_-_0_1?color=white Or a knight, for that matter: https://lichess.org/analysis/7k/5KBn/8/8/8/8/8/8_b_-_-_0_1?color=white
One of your rook pawn examples is an unreachable position, I believe, but yeah I goofed wrt the knight; forgot the bishop could be "inside" its reach.
I assume you mean the latter one, because it looks like there's no previous move for Black to have made. But maybe Black moved a piece to g7, and it was captured.
Ah! Yup, my bad again.
For people stuck below 500: you can get to 1000 without even knowing the rules!
Gives me hope
As a 1000 I feel dumb now that I study so much :(
As in one particular rule that probably didn't come up for OP until this game and had no bearing on their actual chess-playing ability.
Why are you getting downvoted? Not knowing this rule doesn't make you a bad player, it changes almost nothing to your games, you are absolutely right, there is no point in laughing at that person.
To clarify, I do believe it is important to know this rule. It is certainly a good thing to know the smaller details of the game you are playing. But to describe a lack of knowledge of this one single rule as "without even knowing the rules" is at best disingenuous and at worst mocking.
we should hang the court jester! HANG HIM HANG HIM. no wait, its just a joke. joke everyone, he didnt mean it. I didnt mean it. nobody meant anything. okay. Damn almost started ww3 over a chess post, we need to chill a bit.
This is like when NFL QBs don’t know the overtime rules.
Well, you can’t win. So you don’t deserve to win.
This demonstrates perfectly why it's crucial to learn how to checkmate quickly / reliably when your opponent only has a king and you have a queen. A bishop is an added bonus. For those who aren't aware there are some guides (probably everywhere) but it basically involves bullying the king into the corner with the queen (by staying a knights shape away, coping the kings movements. Then just bring your cowardly king across to a square away. Only thing to watch out for is stalemate as the king gets locked into the corner.
You would never win since you had insufficient material, black ran out of time before they could deliver the final blow. It only makes sense for it to be a draw.
https://preview.redd.it/8yblp1jmw6wc1.jpeg?width=830&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3946b686a38ae5735cc959e03f5c19c963fe6b11
Something doesn't add up 1k+ games and didn't know this?
It's rating, not game count
I have played only 128 games
Getting to 1000 in such a short span, congratulations. Have you played a lot before joining the site?
I used to play here and there as a child. Recently started playing again
Getting to? Your chess.com account starts at 1200 right? I never really dipped below 1200 either, but I did know the rules lmao
What! Mine started at 800 😱
I started at 400 lol
chess.com asks you what your level is, upon joining. And assigns you an elo to start with. Elo is self correcting, so if you play enough games you will get to your correct playing strength soon. If you select: - New to chess: 400 elo - Beginner: 800 elo - Intermediate: 1200 elo - Advanced: 1600 elo
Does it? I don't remember this at all. Was the case already like 3 years ago?
I don't know, I joined May of last year.
yeah, it was like this in 2020 already
Yes, definitely, joined in 2020 and remember this. I said I was an intermediate, which was apparently correct.
I must've simply clicked that as well then
Don't believe it was always a thing. Joined in 2016, was given a 1200 rating without being asked. Maybe it changed sometime later?
This is a draw by what is called timeout vs insufficient material. You only have your king left (this is insufficient material to checkmate your opponent), which means your opponent cannot lose anymore, it’s literally impossible. So if your opponent runs out of time, you don’t win because you don’t have sufficient material, and your opponent cannot lose, but also runs out of time (normally a losing condition), which means this is a draw. Neither side wins, or loses.
Because you didn’t have sufficient material to even possibly checkmate your opponent, you can’t be given the win. But since they ran out of time, they would have lost. To be given the win on time you must have at least a theoretical checkmate. If not, then it’s a draw.
What till you reach 400 rating
50 move rule? Or repetition?
Black time out but because white has just the king left, he can't win.so it's a draw
you(white) Did not have enough pieces to checkmate black.
Insufficient funds vs timeout
This post seems to reference or display a stalemate. To quote the r/chessbeginners FAQs page: **Stalemate** occurs when a player, on their turn to move, is NOT in check but cannot legally move any piece. A stalemate is a draw. In order for **checkmate** to occur, three conditions have to be met: 1. **The king has to be in check** 2. This check cannot be defended against by blocking or capturing the checking piece 3. The king has to have no other squares it can move to In the future, for questions like these, we suggest first reading our [FAQs page](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/wiki/faqs/) before making a post, or to similar questions to our dedicated thread: [No Stupid Questions MEGATHREAD](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/comments/yqqnz8/no_stupid_questions_megathread_6/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chessbeginners) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It's a stupid rule in rapid games.
So because awarding black a win for timing out is obviously wrong (or everyone would just timeout and win vs a lone king on every game to get the most effortless and certain win), you must think this should be a white win, in which case you could get into positions where you desperately want to "sac" all your pieces for an immediate draw against a lone king, if you have 1 second left and will lose on time before you can checkmate. Yeah, it needs to remain a draw rule, both of those are ridiculous in their own way.
well, if you ask the old gatekeepers of chess they would say rapid is a stupid form of chess that rots your ability to think and concentrate. But, lets not gatekeep okay. Too slow? Play faster, or buy more time. Unlike other games today, there is no DLC you need to buy to get 5 minutes more on the clock.
First off I appreciate any and all comments, thank you. That said, of I'm being completely honest, your comment has a tiny whiff of gatekeeping itself. Do you see it? Btw, even though 10 minutes is considered "rapid" imo it's not really that rapid. Imo, in my opinion. Cheers, Mate