4 ms·

You shouldn't comment so snarkily to someone you don't know. I understand what a drawn position is, however players will regularly agree to a draw well before i

You shouldn't comment so snarkily to someone you don't know. I understand what a drawn position is, however players will regularly agree to a draw well before it actually happens. They choose to draw because of potential drawn positions. There's no reason for a game not to continue until there is an actual stalemate (or a set of similar circumstances, like a situation in which checkmate is impossible), or a blunder by one of the opponents.

umanwizard 8y ago
> I understand what a drawn position is To make this more concrete, the following link is a drawn position (it is trivially easy for either side to avoid checkmate, indefinitely) http://www.jinchess.com/chessboard/?p=---k-------------------------------------------------------KNN-- http://www.jinchess.com/chessboard/?p=---k------------------... However, checkmate is still possible (White can checkmate Black if Black makes severe blunders that even beginners probably wouldn't make) Do you think the players should be forced to play on here?
- russellbeattie 8y ago
  Yes! Or black should resign. And in addition, they have clocks for a reason - though time is added indefinitely at the end (if a player moves fast enough) - if a player takes an hour more than an opponent (like Carlsen did in the middle of game 8) they should start to feel the pressure of that more severely.
  - umanwizard 8y ago
    Why do you think Black should lose here? Why is Black's position worse than White's ? If your answer is "White has more material", keep in mind that chess is not about material; it is about checkmate. But, nevertheless, here's an example with equal material where checkmate is possible for both sides, but not without blunders. Who should have to resign here? http://www.jinchess.com/chessboard/?p=--------------------k-------p-------P-------K------------------- http://www.jinchess.com/chessboard/?p=--------------------k-... If you really insist on saying "well yes, they should have to keep moving the kings around aimlessly for hours until somebody's clock runs out", you're proposing a game that is so fundamentally unlike chess that it should probably be given a different name.

umanwizard 8y ago

> I understand what a drawn position is To make this more concrete, the following link is a drawn position (it is trivially easy for either side to avoid checkmate, indefinitely) http://www.jinchess.com/chessboard/?p=---k-------------------------------------------------------KNN-- http://www.jinchess.com/chessboard/?p=---k------------------... However, checkmate is still possible (White can checkmate Black if Black makes severe blunders that even beginners probably wouldn't make) Do you think the players should be forced to play on here?

russellbeattie 8y ago
Yes! Or black should resign. And in addition, they have clocks for a reason - though time is added indefinitely at the end (if a player moves fast enough) - if a player takes an hour more than an opponent (like Carlsen did in the middle of game 8) they should start to feel the pressure of that more severely.
- umanwizard 8y ago
  Why do you think Black should lose here? Why is Black's position worse than White's ? If your answer is "White has more material", keep in mind that chess is not about material; it is about checkmate. But, nevertheless, here's an example with equal material where checkmate is possible for both sides, but not without blunders. Who should have to resign here? http://www.jinchess.com/chessboard/?p=--------------------k-------p-------P-------K------------------- http://www.jinchess.com/chessboard/?p=--------------------k-... If you really insist on saying "well yes, they should have to keep moving the kings around aimlessly for hours until somebody's clock runs out", you're proposing a game that is so fundamentally unlike chess that it should probably be given a different name.