A game of chess either concludes in victory for the one and defeat to the other, or in a draw. The game which is neither won nor lost is called a drawn game. There are six ways in which a drawn game may be reached.
First one, stalemate. To understand this, you must know what is checkmate. Checkmate is the climax of a game when the king is in check and there is no move to play without violating the rules of the game. Stalemate is similar to checkmate, except that the king is not in check. Stalemate literally means an 'imitation mate'. Stalemate is a mighty weapon to fetch a draw for a player with minus position. In case of short games like Blitz and Bullet, even champions tend to oversee stalemate and end up in a drawn game.
Next, Agreement. This is the general way to conclude a game in a draw. When a player proposes a draw and the other accepts it, the game is said to be drawn. When both sides are equal in terms of material and position and there is hardly any possibility of a win unless some great blunder is committed by one of them, which is not likely, they often immediately agree to a draw. It is logical to agree to a draw when neither side is in a position to checkmate the other, as it saves time and energy. A funny fact is that novice players tend to propose a draw when they hold a losing position despite, knowing that the opponent is more likely to reject the offer!
Next, the 50-move rule. At any stage of the game, if 50 moves are played by both the sides without any captures or any pawns being moved, the player whose turn is to play may claim a draw. This rule is hardly applied because if a capture happens even in the 49th move, the 50 move count is reset. Logically speaking, if a game goes without any capture and there is no progress in the game, it is highly likely to be drawn by agreement.
Next, Material Insufficiency. A game ends in a draw if both the players are left with insufficient material to mate the opponent. Suppose both the players have only their kings on the board, the mate is out of question. To execute a checkmate to a lone king, a player must possess King and Queen, or King and Rook, or King and two Bishops, or King, a Bishop and a Knight.
Next, Threefold repetition. A player can claim a draw if the same position is repeated three times during the game, with the same player to move each time. It is not obligatory to claim such a draw. To prevent such a position, the other player should, if he desires so, play a different move when it is his turn to play.
The last one, Perpetual Check. It is the sequence of checking moves by a player against which the opponent has no escape. Generally, a player with completely dead position would look for a perpetual check to force a draw.
To conclude, a draw can be ideally resorted when the game is equal in terms of material as well as position. A player with weaker position may also strive for a draw so that he can gain half the score. A matured player is one who understands that proposing a draw with losing position is absurd and futile!!
Very informative article. A must-read articles for beginner level chess players.
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