What Is A Draw?

The third and final phase of a chess game is called the endgame. The World's match with Kasparov has now definitely entered this phase. It is often signaled by the exchange of queens. In the endgame, most of the pieces have been lost or traded and the king has become much more powerful. When only pawns are left, the king is basically safe from attack. It begins to roam the board, assisting the remaining pieces.

The pawns that are left on the board, however, still have a powerful weapon in their arsenal. When a pawn reaches the eighth rank, it is immediately promoted to any piece of its own color except a King or a pawn. If any piece other than a queen is chosen, this is called underpromotion. Sometimes it is necessary to underpromote a pawn in order to prevent a stalemate. There are also instances where underpromotion can provide a piece needed to threaten checkmate.

The World finds itself in a Queen-and-pawn endgame, in which any of the three pawns still on the board can, under favorable conditions, reach the eighth rank and be promoted. Kasparov recently checked The World's king twice (Move 52 and 53) when he could have pushed his remaining pawn forward. Why did he do that? He wanted to re-position his queen to f4 or f2 to shield his king from checks by The World's queen. Now that Kasparov's King is safer, he will begin to push his g-pawn toward promotion. The race continues, and the World Champion appears closer to promotion - but he will continue maneuvering his existing queen to ensure the best conditions for his next one.

Both kings play a major role in shepherding their pawns. Ideally, they both need to stay close to their pawns as well as away from the center of the board. Thanks to Kasparov's attacks, The World's king has been unable to escort its little ones, and has chosen the temporary safety of the corner at a1 from which to wait for its pawns as they march toward promotion. In the meantime, The World's queen is charged with protecting its weaker kin.

Our chess analysts and our moderator, Danny King, have long predicted that the most likely outcome of this game is a draw. What is a draw?

A draw or tied game results from either a stalemate; a "three-time repetition of position;" an agreement between the players to end the game in a tie; or insufficient mating material.

A stalemate occurs when one player has no available legal moves, but must move because it's his or her turn to do so. Neither the King nor any other piece can move, but the King is not being attacked. A stalemate has been considered a draw since the early 19th century. In modern English, the word means "temporary state of impasse," but in chess, it is not temporary; the game is over.

Perpetual check is caused by one side checking the other side on each move. This may eventually result in a three-time repetition of position, in which the same position recurs twice, with the same player to move and the same movement possibilities. When this happens, either player can claim a draw.

In an agreement, one side offers a draw to the other.

Insufficient mating material. If neither player has enough pieces to checkmate the opponent, and has no hope of gaining the necessary pieces (if there are no pawns on the board), then the game is a draw. Even with the King's assistance, neither a single bishop nor a knight is enough to produce a checkmate.

The talk on the street is that a draw is the best outcome that The World can hope for. Will it in fact earn that distinction against the World Champion? Stay tuned and keep voting!

---Art Fazakas