Answers.Body: <p>It doesn't matter whether the players play good moves or bad moves there is a maximum possible number of moves. There is a rule which guarantees this - the 75 move rule. It says that if 75 moves are played without either a pawn move or a capture then the game is drawn.</p>
  
  <p>The relevant article of the <a href="https://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=208&amp;view=article" rel="noreferrer">FIDE Laws of chess</a> is 9.6.2-</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>9.6 If one or both of the following occur(s) then the game is drawn:</p>
    
    <p>9.6.1 the same position has appeared, as in 9.2.2 at least five times. </p>
    
    <p><strong>9.6.2 any series of at least 75 moves have been made by each
    player without the movement of any pawn and without any capture.</strong> If
    the last move resulted in checkmate, that shall take precedence.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>So, once every 75 moves a piece must be captured or a pawn moved (forward). Eventually all the pawns have queened or been captured and all the pieces captured and only the kings are left - which is a draw.</p>
  
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Answers.Text: Perfectly correct, but I feel that this is only a partial answer. IMO it should be added a note (or link) saying that nobody knows whether white is going to win and nobody knows what the *best move* in any position would be.
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Answers.Text: For additional discussion of the theoretical maximum number of moves, see [Longest chess game possible (maximum moves)](https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/4113/longest-chess-game-possible-maximum-moves).
Answers.UserDisplayName: itub
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Answers.Text: I would regard the FIDE laws as rules for the events that are subject to the organization's jurisdiction, rather than fundamental rules of the game itself.  If e.g. the 75-move rule were replaced by a hypothetical rule that would proclaim Black victorious if the game went more than 500 moves and black had sufficient mating material, but stalemate and lack of mating material were still draws, would that change give Black a winning advantage, or could White--at worst--force Black into a choice between a stalemate and a loss?
Answers.UserDisplayName: supercat
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Answers.Text: @user1583209 your statement that we don't know what PerfectPlay looks like is true ... but not actually relevant. It doesn't *matter* that we don't know what Perfect Play is ... because as outlined above, the game must be finite *whatever* Perfect Play looks like.
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Answers.Text: @Brondahl If by "finite" you mean that the game ends because of the 75 moves rule that is debatable, depending on whether you consider FIDE laws as part of the game (see comment by supercat). Also note that the OP specifically excludes draws.
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Answers.Text: @Brondahl If by "finite" you mean that the position will eventually repeat, then sure it is finite.
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Brian Towers
Body: <p>Just as the title says: Would a chess game go on indefinitely if both players played the absolute best move each turn? (assuming there is no draw) Or is it white that's going to win?</p>
  
  <p>Is it even possible to be sure about that? Since even engines like Stockfish don't have a 100% accuracy rate.</p>
  
  <p>It's not really a "does white have the advantage" question, rather "if we make the best move each turn, will it ever end?"</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2018-11-27T22:02:01.583Z
Comments.Text: Possible duplicate of [Does white have an advantage?](https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/2017/does-white-have-an-advantage)
Comments.UserDisplayName: Acccumulation
Tags: <theory>
Title: Would a chess game go on indefinitely if both players played the absolute best move each turn?
ThreadText: # Would a chess game go on indefinitely if both players played the absolute best move each turn?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2018-11-27)
  
  Just as the title says: Would a chess game go on indefinitely if both players played the absolute best move each turn? (assuming there is no draw) Or is it white that's going to win?
  
  Is it even possible to be sure about that? Since even engines like Stockfish don't have a 100% accuracy rate.
  
  It's not really a "does white have the advantage" question, rather "if we make the best move each turn, will it ever end?"
  
  **Tags:** theory
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Possible duplicate of [Does white have an advantage?](https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/2017/does-white-have-an-advantage)  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2018-11-27. Score: 5 | Accepted answer
  
  It doesn't matter whether the players play good moves or bad moves there is a maximum possible number of moves. There is a rule which guarantees this - the 75 move rule. It says that if 75 moves are played without either a pawn move or a capture then the game is drawn.
  
  The relevant article of the [FIDE Laws of chess](https://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=208&view=article) is 9.6.2-
  
  > 9.6 If one or both of the following occur(s) then the game is drawn:
  >
  > 9.6.1 the same position has appeared, as in 9.2.2 at least five times.
  >
  > **9.6.2 any series of at least 75 moves have been made by each
  > player without the movement of any pawn and without any capture.** If
  > the last move resulted in checkmate, that shall take precedence.
  
  So, once every 75 moves a piece must be captured or a pawn moved (forward). Eventually all the pawns have queened or been captured and all the pieces captured and only the kings are left - which is a draw.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_3**: Perfectly correct, but I feel that this is only a partial answer. IMO it should be added a note (or link) saying that nobody knows whether white is going to win and nobody knows what the *best move* in any position would be.  
  > **username_4**: For additional discussion of the theoretical maximum number of moves, see [Longest chess game possible (maximum moves)](https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/4113/longest-chess-game-possible-maximum-moves).  
  > **username_5**: I would regard the FIDE laws as rules for the events that are subject to the organization's jurisdiction, rather than fundamental rules of the game itself.  If e.g. the 75-move rule were replaced by a hypothetical rule that would proclaim Black victorious if the game went more than 500 moves and black had sufficient mating material, but stalemate and lack of mating material were still draws, would that change give Black a winning advantage, or could White--at worst--force Black into a choice between a stalemate and a loss?  
  > **username_6**: @username_3 your statement that we don't know what PerfectPlay looks like is true ... but not actually relevant. It doesn't *matter* that we don't know what Perfect Play is ... because as outlined above, the game must be finite *whatever* Perfect Play looks like.  
  > **username_3**: @username_6 If by "finite" you mean that the game ends because of the 75 moves rule that is debatable, depending on whether you consider FIDE laws as part of the game (see comment by username_5). Also note that the OP specifically excludes draws.  
  > **username_3**: @username_6 If by "finite" you mean that the position will eventually repeat, then sure it is finite.  
  
  ---
  
  