In chess one side is stalemated when it is no longer able to make a move but at the same time its king is not in check. The game is then undecided, i.e. drawn. The player who is stalemated is often very far behind in material. In that case there is a greater probability that he will run out of moves. So sometimes stalemate is a cunning saving trick.
In practice stalemate is often the result of a mistake because the superior side could easily have liquidated a different way. In some endgames, on the other hand, stalemate is a central motif in efforts to save the game.
Stalemate wth a rook
White is a rook up. But the black king is not in check and cannot move - stalemate!
Stalemate with the queen
Here too the black king is not in check and cannot move - stalemate!
Correct corner, but not quite...
Black has no more moves and is not in check. It is possible to deliver checkmate in the corner with a bishop and a knight as long as the corner squarte is of the same colour as that of the bishop. However to do so you need the support of the king.
Stalemate as an endgame motif
Perhaps the practically speaking most important stalemate of all occurs in the ending of king and pawn against king.
Stalemate as a lifeline in a pawn ending
King and pawn against king is one of the fundamental endings. It occurs very often that one side is a pawn up. When everything else has been liquidated, this pawn is left. If the defending king is correctly positioned it can hold the draw.
In the following ending too the defending side uses stalemate as the last line of defence. The ending
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is drawn when
the pawn is on the edge of the board (rook pawn)
the black king gets in front of the pawnt
the queening square for the pawn is not of the same colour as that on which the bishop moves
The reason: Black is stalemated in the queening square in the corner.White cannot win with a rook pawn and a bishop of the wrong colour.
The wrong corner
This bishop ending with the wrong corner was in the pioneer days of chess computers a good chance to save the game against chess programs. Simple chess programs gaily aim for this ending because their thinking is very materialistic.
In blitz games with only a few seconds thinking time left mistakes happen since it is all about moving fast. Then stalemate is often arrived at by mistake...
13.2 Упражнения
Перемещайтесь прямо по доске, чтобы ввести решение. Либо щелкните сначала на начальное поле, а затем на целевое. Или нажмите на фигуру, удерживайте ее, переместите на целевое поле и отпустите. Кнопка "Стрелка влево" возвращает ход назад.
Помощь
Начать сначала
Патовая ситуация - это забавный прием, позволяющий спасти игру в полностью проигранной позиции. В некоторых простых окончаниях это центральный защитный прием.
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