The
Complete Chess Course
From Beginning
To
Winning Chess!
by
Fred Reinfeld
21st Century Edition
Fred Reinfeld Chess Classics
Peter Kurzdorfer, General Editor
2016
Russell Enterprises, Inc.
Milford, CT USA
The Complete Chess Course
From Beginning to Winning Chess!
© Copyright 2016 Donald Reinfeld and Judith Reinfeld
Fred Reinfeld Chess Classics – Peter Kurzdorfer, General Editor
ISBN: 978-1-941270-24-0
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-941270-25-7
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any manner or form whatsoever or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Published by:
Russell Enterprises, Inc.
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The publisher and editor wish to express their thanks to David MacEnulty for his permission to use the explanation of English Algebraic Notation as set forth in his book My First Book of Chess Tactics.
Cover design by Janel Lowrance
Printed in the United States of America
Table of Contents
From the Editor
Introduction
Book One – The Basic Rules of Chess
How the Pieces Move
Check and Checkmate
Castling
Additional Powers of the Pawn
How the Moves Are Recorded
Relative Values of the Chess Forces
How Games Are Drawn
Book Two – The Nine Bad Moves
(1) Neglecting Development of Your Pieces
(2) Exposing Your King to Attack
(3) Making Too Many Queen Moves in the Opening
(4) Grabbing Pawns Thoughtlessly
(5) Weakening Your Castled Position
(6) Getting Pinned
(7) Failing to Guard against Captures
(8) Underestimating Your Opponent’s Threats
(9) Losing a Won Game
Book Three – How to Play the White Pieces
(1) How to Control the Center
(2) How to Exploit Your Superior Development
(3) How to Exploit Your Superior Mobility
(4) How to Exploit Black’s Premature Opening Up of the Position
(5) How to Exploit Black’s Premature Counterattack
(6) How to Exploit Black’s Weakening Pawn Moves
(7) How to Exploit Black’s Errors of Judgment
(8) Opening Mistakes White Should Avoid
Book Four – How to Play the Black Pieces
(1) How to Exploit White’s Weaknesses
(2) How to Seize the Initiative
(3) How to Play against Gambits
(4) How to Defend against a Powerful Attack
(5) How to Seize the Attack
(6) Opening Mistakes Black Should Avoid
Book Five – How to Win When You’re Ahead
(1) Superior Force Should Win!
(2) The Power of Pawn Promotion
(3) King and Pawn Endings
(4) Endgames with a Piece Ahead
(5) Endgames with the Exchange Ahead
(6) Rook and Pawn Endings
(7) Endings with Minor Pieces
(8) Sundry Endings
(9) How to Simplify into a Won Ending
(10) Exceptions: Material Advantage Doesn’t Always Win
(11) Beware of Overconfidence!
Book Six – How to Fight Back
(1) Counterattack – How to Meet the Crisis
(2) Resourceful Defense – How to Simplify
(3) Half a Point Is Better than None
(4) The Defense Fumbles
(5) How to Fight Back: Practical Examples
(6) Point of No Return
Book Seven – How to Play the e-pawn Openings
Center Game
Danish Gambit
Bishop’s Opening
Vienna Game
King’s Gambit
King’s Gambit Declined
Falkbeer Counter Gambit
Latvian Counter Gambit
Philidor’s Defense
Petroff’s Defense
Scotch Game
Ponziani Opening
Hungarian Defense
Giuoco Piano
Evans Gambit
Two Knights’ Defense
Max Lange Attack
Four Knights’ Game (including Three Knights’ Game)
Ruy Lopez
French Defense
Sicilian Defense
Caro-Kann Defense
Alekhine’s Defense
Scandinavian Defense
Nimzovich Defense
Pirc Defense
Book Eight – How to Play the d-pawn Openings
Queen’s Gambit Declined
Albin Counter Gambit
Queen’s Gambit Accepted
Miscellaneous Double d-pawn Openings
Nimzo-Indian Defense
Queen’s Indian Defense
King’s Indian Defense
Grünfeld Defense
Blumenfeld Counter Gambit
Budapest Defense
Benoni Defense
Dutch Defense
Réti Opening
Catalan System
English Opening
Bird’s Opening
Editorial Notes
From the Editor
Mid-20th century best-selling author Fred Reinfeld introduced thousands of players to the wonderful game of chess through his tireless efforts. His books were ubiquitous and covered every conceivable aspect of the royal game.
I was one of countless chess players representing several generations who grew up surrounded by Reinfeld books. We couldn’t get enough of them! He not only taught us how to play the game well, but also implanted in us his enthusiastic passion for learning the game.
Fred’s books are peppered throughout with words and phrases in italics to emphasize ideas. Moves are punctuated with single, double, and even triple exclamation marks and question marks to span the entire spectrum of emotions the moves conjure up.
He had a way of reducing the most intricate, complicated combinations to their basic components. After Reinfeld explains a combination, it makes sense.
Thus I am pleased and honored to be a part of bringing back my old mentor to new generations of chess players. Russell Enterprises Inc. is engaged in a project of resurrecting the immortal Reinfeld classics, republishing them with the modern algebraic notation in place of the archaic English descriptive notation that was popular years ago to make them accessible to 21st century chess players.
This undertaking, begun under General Editor Bruce Alberston, has been passed on to me. So I get to reread these wonderful old books, change the notation in ChessBase, type up Fred’s snappy prose, and look out for potential errors.
The few analytical errors that crop up from time to time are easily checked with the monster chess engine Fritz, which Fred never had access to. In those far-off pre-computer days, you analyzed each and every position, including any variations you thought up, with nothing more than a board and pieces, using your knowledge of the pieces’ potential.
Thus the few errors are no reflection on the author’s ability or knowledge at all. I have called attention to only the most egregious ones, indicated by an asterisk, and appearing on page 288. They certainly do not detract at all from the fresh charm he imparts on each and every position he looks at.
The Complete Chess Course in particular was originally brought out as a series of separate books that Fred later combined. The only part that is slightly out of date is his treatment of the openings, which are rather naïve by modern standards; however, that should make no difference at the intermediate or even national master level, as I know all too well.
Absorb the material included in this volume and you will play chess at a fairly high level. Or read through it all and enjoy Fred’s masterful explanations; you will certainly be entranced by his enthusiasm for the intricate relationships the pieces experience in the context of a game or even a standout plan or combination.
The section on notation is the only portion of this work that Fred Reinfeld did not write. Since he used the old English descriptive notation exclusively, that section has been replaced with the gracious permission of David MacEnulty from his My First Book of Chess Tactics.
Peter Kurzdorfer
Olean, New York
October 2015
Introduction
Although seven of the eight sections of this book were originally published as separate volumes, they were written with their coordination as a complete chess course in mind. Conveniently prefaced now by a new summarized review of the basic elements of chess, the resulting comprehensive whole provides the instruction that any chessplayer needs to develop a respectable degree of skill.
The integrated progression of subjects is treated in the following order. A player who knows the elements but little more about chess may not need the introductory steps revealed in Book One, but he does need to be warned about the types of mistakes – neglected development and the like – that beginning and intermediate players make so frequently. He can then go on to study opening play in its larger aspects, and examine its consequences in the ensuing middlegame. From this point he proceeds to study the endgame stage, which evolves out of the middlegame previously studied. And finally, having seen the logical relationship which binds together opening, middlegame, and ending, the student is now ready to go back to the initial stage and study the chief openings in rewarding detail.
With this overall scheme in mind, the reader is in a better position to appreciate the detailed treatment in each section.
Book One is a summary of chess fundamentals that provides the first springboard into the “royal” game for beginners, and also serves as a refresher for the more advanced player.
Book Two is a study of the nine most common mistakes made by chessplayers. These include such typical errors as failing to guard against hostile captures, underestimating the opponent’s threats, and making pawn moves that weaken the castled position. Many examples are given to show how these and other mistakes prove disastrous in the opening and middlegame.
Now that the reader has been made aware of the kinds of mistakes he must avoid, he is ready to study the problem of planning the opening so as to get a promising middlegame position. First the subject is treated from White’s point of view (Book Three). Dealing with such problems as control of the center, how to exploit superior development and mobility, and the like. But it is at least equally important to deal with opening problems from Black’s point of view, and this brings us to Book Four; here problems of counterattack and defense are emphasized.
These studies of middlegame play lead logically to a treatment of the endgame stage, for whatever happens in the final part of the game is the consequence of what happened earlier in the opening and middlegame. As a rule, the chief practical problem of endgame play is how to win with a material advantage which has been obtained in the middlegame. In Book Five the different types of endings are classified and studied; many practical examples are explained, and the reader acquires an excellent grasp of the vital problem of converting a material advantage into victory.
But to know how to make use of advantages is not enough; so in Book Six we go on to the related problem of how to make the most of disadvantageous positions. This section contains many valuable pointers that will help the reader to salvage many an apparently lost game.
Now that opening, middlegame, and endgame have been surveyed, what remains? It is now time to survey the chess openings in some detail, paying particular attention to the way in which opening moves are intertwined with the ensuing middlegame play. This material appears in Books Seven and Eight. Each opening is presented with explanations of is basic ideas – the plans of each player, their middlegame goals, the clash that follows their attempts to enforce their disparate conceptions.
Throughout, my aim has been to give the reader a better idea of the fine points of chess as it is played by the masters. The appreciative comments I have had from readers encourage me to believe that a much wider circle of new readers will enjoy this material and apply it profitably in their own games.
Fred Reinfeld
Book One
The Basic Rules of Chess
Chess is played by two opponents, “White” and “Black,” who take turns making their moves. White always makes the first move. The chessboard (Diagram 1) has eight horizontal rows (“ranks”) and eight vertical rows (“files”). Each row is therefore made up of eight squares.
All 64 squares are used in the play, and in order to make it easier to tell them apart, they are alternately light colored (“light squares”) and dark colored (“dark squares”). (D)
At the beginning of a game, each player has 16 chessmen, always placed as in Diagram 2. (D)
White always takes the light colored chessmen; Black has the dark colored chessmen. The names of the forces shown in Diagram 2 are:
An important point to remember is that in the opening position the right-hand corner square nearest to White must be a light square.
Another important point about the opening position: the two queens face each other along the same vertical row (“the d-file”). Each queen is placed on a square of its own color, the white queen on a light square, the black queen on a dark square.
Both kings likewise face each other across the e-file.
The king bishop is placed next to the king, on the f-file.
The king knight is placed next to the king bishop, on the g-file.
The king rook is placed next to the king knight, on the h-file.
The queen bishop is placed next to the queen, on the c-file.
The queen knight is placed next to the queen bishop, on the b-file.
The queen rook is placed next to the queen knight, on the a-file.
The white pawns are set out on the second row (“the second rank”), in front of the pieces just named.
The black pawns are set out on the seventh row (“the seventh rank”), in front of the pieces just named.
Each pawn is named for the file it stands on.
Thus, the pawn on the e-file (where the kings begin the game) is the e-pawn.
How the Pieces Move
Each of the men moves in a different way. In describing the moves it is necessary to refer to ranks, files, and also diagonals. (A diagonal is a row of squares of the same color all going in the same direction. In Diagram 2 the row of light squares from White’s king rook to Black’s queen rook is a diagonal.)
The King
The king (subject to limitations that are described later on) moves one square in any direction. (D)
The king captures the same way it moves; when it captures an enemy piece it displaces that piece (occupies the square of the captured unit). (D)
The Queen
The queen is the most powerful of all the chess forces. Like the king, the queen can move in any direction – but with this important difference: the queen can move the whole length of any available line, as long as there is no obstacle in the way. (D)
There are two possible obstacles: friendly pieces, which the queen cannot displace or leap over; or enemy pieces, which can be captured by displacement. (D)
The Rook
The rook (next most powerful piece after the queen) moves horizontally (on ranks) or vertically (on files) – one direction at a time. (D)
The rook captures hostile pieces by displacement, but it cannot displace or leap over its own forces. The rook captures in the same way it moves. (Some players call the rook a “castle,” but “rook” is the proper term.) (D)
The Bishop
The bishop, moving in one direction at a time, moves and captures diagonally. (D)
The bishop captures hostile pieces by displacement. It cannot displace or leap over its own forces. (D)
The Knight
The knight is the only piece that can leap over other units – his own or the opponent’s. The knight is also the only piece that has a move of fixed length. It moves a total of three squares – in either one of two ways:
(a) One square forward or backward; then two squares to the right or left.
(b) One square to the right or left; then two squares forward or backward.
The knight captures only on the terminal square of his move, displacing the piece it captures. (D)
Note that the knight changes the color of its square each time it moves. It goes from a light square to a dark square or from a dark square to a light square. (D)
The Pawn
The pawn is the only unit that is limited to moving in only one direction: straight ahead.
With one exception (to be noted shortly), a pawn moves one square forward unless its path is blocked by one of its own units or by a hostile unit.
The path for white pawns (as seen in Diagram 2) is directly forward from the opening position. How a white pawn moves is shown in detail on Diagrams 15 and 16. (D)
The path for black pawns (likewise seen in Diagram 2) is also directly forward from the opening position. How a black pawn moves is shown in Diagrams 17 and 18. (D)
The pawn has one important option. When any pawn is moved from its opening position – even if this occurs at a late stage of the game – that pawn on its first move has the option of moving one square or two. Thus, in Diagram 2 (the opening position) all the pawns, while on the second rank (for White; seventh for Black) have the option of moving one square or two. (D)
The pawn’s capturing methods differ from the way it moves.
The pawn moves by advancing straight along a file. In capturing, however, the pawn can take a hostile unit only if it is located on either of the diagonally-forward adjoining squares – that is, one square forward to the right or left. (D)
The pawn cannot capture a hostile unit which is directly in front of it. (D)
Check and Checkmate
The king is the most important piece in chess.
The basic method of winning a game of chess is to attack the hostile king in such a way that it cannot escape. This is called “checkmate.” (The king is actually not captured; its inability to escape from attack is what constitutes the checkmate.)
Any attack by a piece or pawn directly on a king is called a “check.” When a king is checked, it must immediately get out of check. The king cannot be allowed to remain in check.
If it is a player’s turn to move and his king is not in check, he cannot make any move that exposes the king to check. The king must never come within the capturing range of hostile pieces.
There are three ways to get out of check:
(1) to capture the unit that is giving check;
(2) to move the king out of the line of attack – but not into the line of attack of some other unit;
(3) to interpose one of your own units between the king and the hostile unit that is giving check.
If none of these three methods can be applied, then the king is checkmated.
In Diagrams 23 and 24 the black king was in check, but it was possible to get out of check. In Diagram 25 the attacked king is able to escape; but in Diagram 26 the attacked king is checkmated. (D)
The positions in Diagrams 26, 27, and 28 are all examples of checkmate. In each case the checking piece cannot be captured; the attacked king cannot move out of the capturing range of the hostile forces; and no friendly unit can be interposed on the line of attack between the checking unit and the checked king. (D)
Discovered Check
This is a special kind of check, caused by removing a unit to unmask a line of attack by another unit. For example, in Diagram 29 White’s bishop can give check without moving; the check is “discovered” by moving the white rook which has been blocking the diagonal. The result appears in Diagram 30. (D)
Double Check
This is a discovered check with an added feature: the piece that unmasks an attacking line for the discovered check also gives check. (D)
The double check is the most difficult kind of check to meet, as capture or interposition is impossible. For if either checking unit is captured, the other unit continues to give check. Similarly, an interposition to one check still leaves the other check functioning.
The only possible reply to a double check, then, is to move the attacked king. Where this is not feasible, the king is checkmated.
Castling
We have seen what happens when the king is exposed to attack. The special move known as “castling” offers a valuable method for safeguarding the king against attack.
Castling is the only move in chess which is really two separate moves – a king move and a rook move. Castling, as well, is the only move that each player can carry out only once during a game.
It is possible to castle with the king and king rook (kingside castling) or with the king and queen rook (queenside castling). Diagrams 33 and 34 show how kingside castling is accomplished. (D)
To castle kingside, a player moves his king two squares, landing next to the king rook.
He then moves his rook to the other side of the king. When castling is completed, the castled king and rook are on adjacent squares, as in Diagram 34.
Queenside castling is illustrated in Diagrams 35 and 36. (D)
Requirements for Castling
Castling is permanently impossible if:
(1) The king has already moved (Diagram 37) or;
(2) The rook intended for castling has already moved (Diagram 38). (D)
When Castling is Impossible
Castling is impossible when:
(1) The squares between the king and rook are not all vacant (Diagram 39).
(2) A player’s king is in check (Diagram 40).
(3) The king has to pass over a square commanded by an enemy unit (Diagram 41).
(4) The king will land on a square commanded by an enemy unit (Diagram 42).
While castling is impossible as long as any of these conditions apply, castling becomes feasible as soon as all limiting conditions are removed. (D)
Additional Powers of the Pawn
The pawn is the least valuable of all the chess units, yet it has one power which enhances its value considerably in special situations.
Pawn Promotion
If a pawn reaches the last square in a file, it is promoted – must be promoted – to a friendly queen or a rook or a bishop or a knight. White the player has the option here, he usually chooses a new queen, as this is the most powerful of all the chess units. This process, known as “promoting” or “queening” a pawn, is illustrated in Diagrams 43 and 44. (D)
Pawn Captures en passant (“In Passing”)
This is a special capturing option which a player can exercise when any of his pawns have reached the fifth rank (for White, or the fourth rank for Black). This is possible only if all the following conditions are present:
(1) The pawn that will do the capturing must be on the fifth rank (for White, or the fourth rank for Black).
(2) The pawns involved must be on adjacent files.
(3) The pawn that will ultimately be captured must still be on its original rank (seventh for Black or second for White).
(4) The pawn that is to be captured advances two squares (Diagram 46).
(5) In reply, the opposing pawn captures the first pawn as if it had advanced only one square (Diagram 47).
Remember that only a pawn can capture in passing, and only a pawn can be captured in passing. (D)
As a rule, capturing in passing is optional. However, if a player does not make the capture in passing at the first opportunity, he loses his option.
There are two cases when capturing or not capturing in passing is compulsory. If the only way to get out of check is by means of an en passant capture, then the capture must be made. Likewise, if capturing in passing would expose one’s king to attack, then the capture cannot be made.
How Moves Are Recorded
Fred Reinfeld’s original work was in what is known as “English Description Notation.” That method of recording chess games is no longer used. The modern method is called “English Algebraic Notation.” The following section is reprinted, with permission, from My First Book of Chess Tactics by David MacEnulty.
NAMING THE SQUARES
To understand this book, you must understand algebraic notation.
Fortunately, algebraic notation is easy to learn. The first thing to learn is how we name squares.The chessboard is a square arrangement of sixty-four smaller squares, laid out in eight rows of eight squares each.
The rows going sideways are called ranks.
Ranks are numbered 1 through 8.The rows going up and down the board are called files.
Files are named after the first eight letters of the alphabet, a through h.Squares are named after the file they are on and the rank they are on. Each square has only one name, which is made up of a letter and a number.
As an example of how we name squares, the five-point star in this diagram is on the d-file and also on the 4th rank. So the star is on the square we call d4.
The “d” is a lowercase letter, and the letter comes before the number. We would not write this as D4, nor would we write it 4d. In chess we always name the file first, and it is always a lowercase letter.
What square is the four-point star on?
The four-point star on the previous page is on g2.
NAMING THE PIECES
There are six different pieces in the chess army. Below are the names of the pieces, the symbol used in notation, and a picture of what it looks like on our diagrams.
Note that we use only upper case letters as symbols for the pieces. That way there is no confusion between the upper case B for bishop and the lower case b for the b-file.
You may have noticed that even though the word knight is spelled with a ‘K’ as the first letter, we use the letter N as the symbol. That’s because we need the letter K for the king.
Other symbols used in chess:
x |
in the writing of a move indicates that the move involves a capture. |
+ |
at the end of a move indicates that this move puts the opposing king in check. |
+ + |
at the end of a move indicates a double check See Book 2, page 40 |
# |
at the end of a move indicates that this move gives checkmate. |
0-0 |
is used to indicate castling on the kingside, where there are two squares between the king and rook. |
0-0-0 |
is used to indicate castling on the queenside, where there are three squares between the king and rook. |
1-0 |
means White wins. |
0-1 |
means Black wins. |
½-½ |
means the game is a draw. |
! |
indicates a strong move. |
!! |
indicates a brilliant move. |
? |
indicates a weak move or a mistake. |
?? |
indicates a blunder, possibly a losing move. |
!? |
indicates an interesting move. |
? ! |
indicates a dubious move. |
READING AND WRITING CHESS NOTATION
Reading and writing chess notation is simple once you know the names of the pieces and the names of the squares.
There are various forms of notation, but the most popular form, and the easiest to understand, is algebraic notation.
First, we begin with a number. The number simply tells us which move we are on. So, if there is a 1 in front, it’s the first move. If there is a 5 in front, it is the fifth move.
Next comes the symbol for the piece that is moving: K for king, Q for queen, B for bishop, N for knight, or R for rook. We do not give the symbol for the moving unit if it is a pawn.
Finally, we name the square the piece is moving to.
In this diagram, White has moved a pawn from e2 to e4, and Black has moved a pawn from e7 to e5. Since this is the first move for each side, we write this as:
1e4 e5
White’s move is on the left. Black’s is on the right. Since these are pawns, we do not use the symbol for the moving unit.
On move two, both sides brought out a knight. Now the moves are written like this:
1 e4 e5
2 Nf3 Nc6
Note that we use the letter N for knight.
White’s next move will be
3 d4
Diagram after move 3 on the next page.
Is this what you thought it would look like?
The position after 3 d4
For Black’s third move, he takes the pawn on d4. We write this as
3 … exd4 (see diagram)
The 3 means it is the third move of this sequence. The three dots signify that it is Black’s move. The ‘x’ means that a capture has taken place.
This move can also be written as ed. Since no piece is named, we know this is a pawn move. Since the capture involved two files, a pawn has just changed files, which only happens when a pawn is making a capture.
In this book, the moves are often written in paragraph form. The moves we have shown so far would look like this: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 exd4.
If two similar pieces can both get to the same square, you must note which one is moving. For example say you have a knight on c3 and another knight on d2. Since they can each move to e4, if one of the knights moves to e4, we need to know which one. Say the knight on c3 moves to e4. This would be written as 1 Nce4. That way we know it is the knight on c3, and not the knight on d2, that is moving to e4.
One final note: We will be using the “figurine” icons of each piece. (See the “Picture” column on page 22.) Using Figurine Algebraic Notation, the moves shown above look like this: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 exd4
Relative Values of the Chess Pieces
It is essential to know the values of the chess units to avoid giving up a unit of greater value in return for a unit of lesser value.
In addition, you will discover that when you have an advantage in the values of your units (a material advantage), it is generally possible to force checkmate or the queening of a pawn. Consequently you have to understand clearly the nature of your material advantage if you capture a hostile unit without giving up one of your own in exchange.
Here are the relative values of the chess units:
Queen |
9 points |
Rook |
5points |
Bishop |
3 points |
Knight |
3 points |
Pawn |
1 point |
(The king is not included in this table, as it cannot be captured.)
The queen is clearly the most valuable piece by far.
Bishop and knight are of equal value. Giving up a knight for a bishop (or the reverse) is considered an equal exchange.
If a player captures a rook in return for a knight (or bishop), he is said to “win the exchange.” If he captures a knight (or bishop) in return for a rook, he is said to “lose the exchange.”
How Games are Drawn
Most chess games end decisively – victory for one player, defeat for his opponent.
But there are times when the result is indecisive; neither side wins; the game is a “draw.” There are several ways in which a drawn result may be arrived at.
Perpetual Check
This is the term for an endless series of checks which the opponent cannot avoid. Many a player has escaped from a lost game by giving a perpetual check. Thus, in Diagram 53 White, who is so far behind in material that he would lose under normal circumstances, can ward off defeat by resorting to a perpetual check. (D)
White plays for perpetual check:
1.Qe8+! Kh7 2.Qh5+ (D)
Black’s king cannot escape from the checks:
2…Kg8 3.Qe8+ Kh7 4.Qh5+, etc.
In Diagram 54 it is clear that Black’s king is limited to seesawing between two squares with no support from the other black pieces. Under the circumstances White’s queen can maintain the checks indefinitely – any other course would lose for him. So the game is abandoned as a draw.
Stalemate
In the description of checkmate, it was stated that a player is checkmated when his king is in check (under attack) and when there is no possibility of getting the king out of check.
In the case of stalemate, the following conditions have to be present:
(1) It is a player’s turn to move
(2) His king is not in check
(3) The only moves he can make would place his king within the attacking range of an enemy unit.
This is stalemate, and the game is a draw. Diagrams 55 and 56 are cases in point. (D)
In both cases it is White’s turn to move. In both cases his king is not in check. In both cases he is limited to moves that would place his king within the range of an enemy unit.
Inadequate Checkmating Material
Toward the end of a game a player may be left with a material advantage which is not great enough to force checkmate. As it is impossible to checkmate with a knight or with a bishop, the positions in Diagrams 57 and 58 are drawn. (D)
Other Drawing Methods
A game can be called a draw by mutual agreement. If 50 moves have been made on each side without a capture or a pawn move, either player can claim a draw.
If a player whose turn it is to play is about to make a move that will bring about the same position for the third time [with the same player on move and the same potential, such as castling or en passant – Ed.], he can claim a draw.