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In chess, delivering mate is like running hard past first base. If you slow up or relax before the job is done, your opponent is likely to find a resource that saves the game for him. One of these resources is stalemate. Stalemate is defined in the Oxford Companion to Chess as “a position in which a player whose turn it is to move is neither in check nor able to make a move; to put a player in such a position. Stalemate ends the game, which is then drawn.” This can seem unfair to the stronger side. He may have a queen, two rooks, and all of his minor pieces while the opponent only has a king, but if the king has no legal move, it is a draw. “Them’s the rules.” Historically, there were times when a stalemate was as good as checkmate. Yet there were also times when the side that was stalemated was actually considered the winner! For now, it is a draw. Here is an example of a stalemate:
This position is from the game Bird/Englisch, played in London in 1883. White has just played 43.Kh2. This is one of those situations where White appears to have overwhelming force. But with a surprising move (and stalemate often results from a surprising move) Black saves the day: 43...Rh1+ 44.Kxh1 ½–½ Now the black king has no legal move, and despite facing overwhelming force, the game is a draw. Mr. Bird probably was pretty unhappy with this result. Here is one tip for avoiding stalemating your opponent: Don’t gobble up all of your opponent’s pawns and pieces when you have overwhelming force. This is a common beginner’s mistake. If you leave your opponent at least one pawn that is free to move, stalemate is much less likely to occur. Conversely, if you are losing badly and you are down to your last pawn or two, try to move your pawn(s) to a position where they can no longer move. Your opponent may blunder into stalemating you. |
The above position is from the game Van Wely/Nikolic, two of the world’s premier grandmasters, played in the 2000 Corus Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, The Netherlands. Van Wely, thinking he had a sure win, has just played 92.f5. Nikolic had a trick up his sleeve, however. See if you can find the move that forces stalemate in two moves. Scroll down for the answer.
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first Kid Chess Summer Camp will be held at Queen of Angels
Elementary School in Roswell, during the week of June 23-27. A
second camp at the same location will be held July 14-18. Additional
camps will be scheduled throughout the summer. Full and half-day
sessions will be available. Contact Gale Elfer, (404) 875-7137 for
more information. More details will be announced as they become
available.
id
Chess is very excited to announce that we will be offering classes in three
additional Fulton County schools. Alpharetta ES, State Bridge Crossing ES,
and Medlock Bridge ES will now offer the same high standard, fun chess
instruction that so many other Fulton County schools already offer. Classes at
these new schools will begin immediately following the release bell at 2:30 p.m.
For further details, see 
articipation in Chess has been shown to increase test scores in reading and math. Chess helps develop critical thinking, problem solving
abilities, memory, attention span, patience, and sportsmanship.
n
last month’s column, I started with a baseball analogy. Here I go again.
When a batter runs to first base, he must run hard until after he touches
first base. If he slows down before touching the bag, he is likely to be
thrown out.
