Automatic draws

game 10247938

down to K v K and no automatic draw!

Which means that there will be some on site who will play on for the hell of it.

Glitch?

So the opponent clicks on Claim Draw. Game over.

I've been in this situation myself a few times and wondered why the game doesn't automatically default to a draw. Seems odd that a player has to claim the draw when it's a clear stalemate position.

FW

Originally posted by FlyingWolf
I've been in this situation myself a few times and wondered why the game doesn't automatically default to a draw. Seems odd that a player has to [b]claim the draw when it's a clear stalemate position.

FW[/b]

Originally posted by mwmiller
I haven't had one for some time, but I thought a stalemate was automatically recognized on this site and the game automatically ended by the RHP server software.
Otherwise the player who cannot make a legal move would end up timing out and losing instead of having the game end as a draw.
Am I missing something?

From the FAQ: Insufficient material remains on the board to finish the game. If only two kings remain then either player may claim a draw during their next move. If you Google it, two remaining Kings represents a 'tied' game, but is not stalemate. I guess the game could continue infinitum, but then would fall foul of the No piece capture or pawn movement has occurred for over 50 consecutive moves (100 half moves). Therefore the game has not progressed and a draw may be claimed by either player during their next move rule. Either way, a draw has to be claimed it seems. There, I've learnt something today......!

The site should automatically adjudicate the following 3 common cases draws by insufficient material:

King vs. King
King and Bishop vs. King
King and Knight vs. King

I did not know that pawn movements are included in 50 moves rule, so opponent can actually get 150 moves if he ca move pawn twice, that is a lot of time and moves for nothing if game is dead drawn. Is this so ??

Both captures and pawn moves restart the 50-move clock. In practice, other drawing methods usually happen first, such as threefold repetition or insufficient material or perpetual check. It's up to the player to claim the draw though, these are not automatic draws.