Stalemate In Chess: Painful Or Desirable? – ChessForSharks.com

What Is Stalemate In Chess?

A stalemate is a type of draw in the game of chess that occurs when your opponent is unable to make any legal moves to a safe square while not being checked. When a game reaches a stalemate, it ends in a draw. It is a situation in which neither you nor your opponent has a chance to win. A stalemate usually occurs at the end of a game when there are only a few pieces left on the board, but it can also happen in the middle game after you’ve castled and developed your pieces.

If you are in a game and your opponent is some materials up or has a better position, instead of giving up, a good strategy is you try to consolidate your pieces for the defence so you can end the game in a stalemate.

One of the longest games in the World Chess Championship final match ended in a stalemate between grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov. The game ended after 124 moves!

How To Avoid Stalemate In Chess When You’re Winning

Most of the time, you just need to spend an extra second or two making sure you’re not stalemating your opponent – especially since “stalemate tricks” are ways for your opponent to cheat you out of a win.

Once you’ve mastered the basic checkmates, you shouldn’t need more than two queens, and even then, the second queen is probably unnecessary.

Getting extra queens, on the other hand, increases your chances of accidentally stalemating your opponent. If you don’t need to promote a pawn, checkmate with what you’ve got. The threat of the promotion is probably more serious than the promotion itself, so save it for when you really need it.

1. Be Very Careful During The Endgame

Gaining a material advantage during the openings and middle games but not using it during the end games is pointless.

It would help if you exercise extreme caution during the endgame, as simple mistakes can cost you a winning match.

2. Don’t Give Much Attention To Less Threatening Pieces

During the endgames, it sometimes becomes tempting, especially for the newbies, to take away the easily placed opponent’s pieces.

But doing that can also give rise to a stalemate.

So always try to focus on the critical pieces than capturing rather the less threatening pieces. Capturing the less threatening pieces will divert your attention.

3. Drive Your Opponent’s King Towards The Edge Of The Board

To avoid a stalemate and win the game, the best way is to checkmate your opponent. Right?

Now to checkmate, one of the best well-known strategies is to cut off the squares of the opponent’s king and drive it towards the edge of the board.

Especially when the opponent has only a lone king, other pieces are not there or are blocked.

Because if the opponent’s king is in the centre, then it will escape every time we give it a check. And you already know that multiple successive checks will cause the game to end in a draw.

ALSO READ: How To Defend In Chess?: The 7 Divine Principles Of Defense

4. Think Ahead And Anticipate Your Opponent’s Next Move

When you reach the endgame that is when your real test as a chess player begins.

Whatever decisions you take, whatever moves you make will lead you to either win, lose or draw the game.

Now at this stage, it is very important to think ahead and predict the next possible move of your opponent. This will help you to make decisions more accurately.

By thinking ahead of your opponent, you will come to know what’s the motive of your opponent.

ALSO READ: Stop Losing Won Games: 7 Tips On How To Prevent Stalemate In Chess