xyzzy
if you did 10 simultaneous chess games against different players, it would be possible to guarantee you beat half of them every time, no matter how good they are
Princess Emily
sure, if you played half of their moves against the other half
xyzzy
just so
xyzzy
transmit their moves to each other
xyzzy
then you can say you beat five grand masters at chess
Princess Emily
though I guess you'd need to guarantee half of your games had you playing white and half black
xyzzy
granted
Cyouni
are we also not counting draws
xyzzy
draws are a risk
xyzzy
but like, on average
xyzzy
you get it
thetaClysm
the concept of a draw in chess is somehow a novel one to me
thetaClysm
what does that look like
thetaClysm
you simultaneously mate yourself while mating the opponent??
EsperBot
There’s a couple ways to draw in chess
kyrie enjoyer
As I understand it, getting into a loop of moving back and forth between the same spaces.
EsperBot
The big one is Stalemate; if, on a player’s turn, they don’t have any legal moves available to them, but they are also not in check, it’s a stalemate
thetaClysm
...bro is that where the word stalemate comes from
EsperBot
Yep
thetaClysm
that rules actually
EsperBot
Here’s an example of a stalemate. Black’s King can’t go anywhere, but it isn’t checkmate, so it’s a draw by stalemate.
Here’s an example of a stalemate. Black’s King can’t go anywhere, but it isn’t checkmate, so it’s a draw by stalemate.
EsperBot
Another way to draw is for there to just. Not be enough pieces left on the board to checkmate with.
EsperBot
If both sides are down to just their kings, for example, it’s impossible to ever checkmate in either direction, so it’s a draw.
EsperBot
As someone else mentioned, if the exact same position repeats a number of times, that’s also a draw, because it means that both players are in a position where their only non-losing move is to go back and forth between two positions. The game will never advance from here unless one player voluntarily loses, so it’s a draw.
xyzzy
I think there's also one that's something like, if 50 moves go by without any captures or any pawns moving?
EsperBot
The game is also a draw, for similar reasons, if a very large number of turns (I think 50?) goes by without either player advancing a pawn or capturing a piece, because this suggests that the game state is similarly ‘stuck’.
xyzzy
yeah that
EsperBot
Ordinarily, in a timed game of chess, if one player runs out of clock time, the other player wins. However, if the player with time remaining lacks sufficient material to force a checkmate (e.g. they only have their King, or only have a King and a Bishop or something), the game is a draw instead.
EsperBot
And the final way for a game to end in a draw is...for both players to agree to a draw.
EsperBot
Usually this happens when the players can see that the game is heading inevitably towards one of the draw states described above, or both players are uncertain of their chances of winning from the current position.
EsperBot
I think that’s all the ways for Chess to end in a draw.
xyzzy
there looks to be a little more but it's just slight variations on the above
xyzzy
for example the threefold repetition is an optional draw (you can choose to keep playing instead) but fivefold repetition is a forced draw
EsperBot
The existence of draws is actually really important for Chess because it gives competitive players a reason to keep playing from behind instead of immediately resigning once they have a significant disadvantage. Even if your opponent doesn’t screw up and give you the lead back, you can still play for a draw.
EsperBot
And for new players, it forces you to learn how to properly checkmate, because if you don’t know what you’re doing you’ll wind up throwing away games you had essentially already won by bumblefucking your way into a stalemate
EsperBot
(Ask me how I know)
Dr. Min▲zuki
thinking about it... chess is a game about trying to do the impossible
Dr. Min▲zuki
your objective is to put your opponent in checkmate, a situation where your opponent cannot prevent you from capturing their king on your next turn.
Dr. Min▲zuki
the rules of chess are explicitly crafted such that you are not allowed to ever end your turn in a situation where your opponent will be able to capture your king. it is, in fact, impossible to ever capture a king under standard chess rules.
Dr. Min▲zuki
you win at chess by taking an impossible event and making it instead inevitable.