Stalemate in chess
Stockfish 16.1 · runs in your browserPlay Qg6, then try to drag Black's king from h8 to g8. The board refuses the attacked square: this is stalemate, so the game is drawn.
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Commentary
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Best move
Stalemate is a draw: the player to move has no legal move and is not in check. Check the king's safe squares before making a move that leaves your opponent without a reply.
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A king with no safe square does not always mean checkmate. Stalemate needs two facts at once: the player to move has no legal move, and that player's king is not in check. The game ends as a draw immediately. In the first board, White can play Qg6. Black's king on h8 is not attacked, but g8, g7 and h7 are covered, and Black has no other piece to move. The legal queen move therefore gives away the win as a draw.
After Qg6, try dragging the black king from h8 to g8. The board refuses it because the queen attacks g8. Try h7 or g7 and those escapes fail too. Now switch to the checkmate example and play Qg7#. This time the black king is attacked and has no legal reply, so White wins. The important difference is the check, not how many pieces White has or how close the kings stand. A player cannot pass a turn to avoid stalemate.
When you are ahead, pause before taking your opponent's last mobile piece or pushing a queen near a lone king. Ask whose turn comes next, whether that king will be in check, and whether any pawn or other piece can still move. The player behind can sometimes seek a position with no legal move to save a draw. The board examples are deliberately small so you can check every square yourself; the same test applies in a crowded position.
Rules and examples
FIDE Laws of Chess, Article 5.2.1, makes stalemate an immediate draw.
Rules: FIDE Laws of Chess, effective 1 January 2023. https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012023
Rule replay: python-chess 1.11.2 (GPL-3.0-or-later). The shared browser engine retains its Stockfish GPL-3.0 notice. No engine score is claimed by these demonstrations.
Read the rulesA move on the board
7k/5K2/8/6Q1/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1
7k/5K2/6Q1/8/8/8/8/8 b - - 1 1
- Qg6Black has no legal move and is not in check: stalemate is a draw.
Black has no legal move and is not in check: stalemate is a draw.
Original teaching example replayed with python-chess 1.11.2, 2026-10-23.
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