Answers.Body: <p>It would be absolutely reasonable, because there is only one way to end such positions, draw.</p>
  
  <p>There are other positions like these as well. And for this, there is a rule called <a href="https://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=208&amp;view=article" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>dead position rule</em></a> in FIDE. It's a superset of the older concept of <a href="http://www.e4ec.org/immr.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>draw by insufficient material</em></a>.</p>
  
  <p>It's draw automatically if any following situation happens:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>King vs king</li>
  <li>King vs king + knight</li>
  <li>King + zero or more bishops vs king + zero or more bishops, where all bishops stands on same colored squares</li>
  <li>Any combination of pieces in a position where stalemate is unavoidable.</li>
  <li>Any combination of pieces in a blocked position where checkmate is impossible.</li>
  <li>Any combination of pieces in a position where it's inevitable to end up in a position described above.</li>
  </ol>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-01-16T14:37:53.130Z
Answers.Text: There is no rule called *draw by insufficient material*. This is a nick name for a player running out of time and the opponent not being able to produce a mate by any series of legal moves. What you describe is a *dead position* defined in article 5.2.b. Not that it would matter much but it is preferred to use the terms defined in the Laws.
Answers.UserDisplayName: IA Petr Harasimovic
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-01-16T14:44:19.907Z
Answers.Text: Whats the name in the Law then?
Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
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Answers.CreationDate: 2016-01-16T14:46:59.487Z
Answers.Text: Maybe you should answer the question first place, as you are an arbiter.
Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-01-16T15:37:02.117Z
Answers.Text: Gloria Victis answered it and I upvoted. It is called *dead position* as I already wrote. I am not saying your answer is bad, it provides additional insight to understand the idea, which some people may welcome. My comment applies equally to the other answer linking the same article. I just do not want to flood the page with the same comments. Obviously everyone up voting BlindKungFuMaster's answer should up vote yours as well.
Answers.UserDisplayName: IA Petr Harasimovic
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-01-18T08:41:15.080Z
Answers.Text: @IA Petr Harasimovic: I think an answer to this question should mention the phrase "draw by insufficient mating material" because that's just the way it is generally referred to, even if it apparently isn't the official name.
Answers.UserDisplayName: BlindKungFuMaster
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Answers.Text: @BlindKungFuMaster Mentioning it is fine but the proper meaning should be explained. There are problems with using unofficial terms like this. One is that it is hard to say how other people understand it. My understanding of *draw by insufficient material* is that it refers to a situation where one player runs out of time but his King cannot be checkmated. Your understanding may be different and it probably is judging from your answer. Even the article you linked to is not consistent in the use of the two terms (see example G).
Answers.UserDisplayName: IA Petr Harasimovic
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-01-18T11:29:16.727Z
Answers.Text: @BlindKungFuMaster In general people under appreciate the significance of *dead position*. If you keep calling it *draw by insufficient material* they will never learn to use the correct term and understand it properly. The OP for instance seems not to have heard neither of these terms before and you would miss the opportunity to teach them the right term right away.
Answers.UserDisplayName: IA Petr Harasimovic
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-06-22T17:20:57.403Z
Answers.Text: If a player in time trouble claims that a position is dead, is there any official mechanism for resolving that?  I would think a completely fair and practical approach would be for the player making the claim to grant the opponent irrevokable authority over his pieces, whereupon if the position isn't dead the opponent should be able to secure a checkmate, but I know of no such rule.
Answers.UserDisplayName: supercat
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Answers.CreationDate: 2018-04-06T12:08:24.523Z
Answers.Text: Great response, except for the distracting use of the wrong term. Please forgive: I have made minimal changes to preserve your spirit but correct the terminology.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Laska
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-04-06T12:12:41.720Z
Answers.Text: However, to answer the particular question about chess software, it would be very hard to automatically identify all dead positions. (There are some very tricky cases.) On the other hand, the subset of positions with insufficient material is easy to identify.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Laska
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-01-16T13:48:28.243Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2018-04-06T12:06:44.427Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2018-04-06T12:06:44.427Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
Answers.Body: <p>Yes, since it is not possible to produce a checkmate in these circumstances.</p>
  <p>See also the FIDE rules:</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>1.3 If the position is such that neither player can possibly checkmate the opponent’s king, the game is drawn (see Article 5.2 b).</p>
  <p>5.2 b The game is drawn when a position has arisen in which neither player can checkmate the opponent’s king with any series of legal moves. The game is said to end in a ‘dead position’. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing the position was in accordance with Article 3 and Articles 4.2 – 4.7.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-01-16T10:30:08.680Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2016-01-16T10:30:08.680Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2020-06-17T09:59:59.497Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: GloriaVictis
Answers.Body: <p>Yes, in these two cases there is <a href="http://www.e4ec.org/immr.html" rel="nofollow">insufficient mating material</a> and the game will always end in a draw.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-04-06T12:13:44.850Z
Answers.Text: That's a good response to the question, and makes no claims about names of FIDE rules.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Laska
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-01-16T10:30:22.393Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2016-01-16T10:30:22.393Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: BlindKungFuMaster
Body: <p>In developing a computer chess program, would it be reasonable to automatically declare a draw match for these two scenarios:</p>
  
  <p>A.  Player 1 has a king and a knight, player 2 has only a king left.</p>
  
  <p>B.  Player 1 has a king and a bishop, player 2 has only a king left.</p>
  
Tags: <rules><draw><dead-position>
Title: Automatic draw rules
ThreadText: # Automatic draw rules
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2016-01-16)
  
  In developing a computer chess program, would it be reasonable to automatically declare a draw match for these two scenarios:
  
  A. Player 1 has a king and a knight, player 2 has only a king left.
  
  B. Player 1 has a king and a bishop, player 2 has only a king left.
  
  **Tags:** rules, draw, dead-position
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 3 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2016-01-16. Score: 1 | Accepted answer
  
  It would be absolutely reasonable, because there is only one way to end such positions, draw.
  
  There are other positions like these as well. And for this, there is a rule called [*dead position rule*](https://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=208&view=article) in FIDE. It's a superset of the older concept of [*draw by insufficient material*](http://www.e4ec.org/immr.html).
  
  It's draw automatically if any following situation happens:
  
  1. King vs king
  2. King vs king + knight
  3. King + zero or more bishops vs king + zero or more bishops, where all bishops stands on same colored squares
  4. Any combination of pieces in a position where stalemate is unavoidable.
  5. Any combination of pieces in a blocked position where checkmate is impossible.
  6. Any combination of pieces in a position where it's inevitable to end up in a position described above.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_2**: There is no rule called *draw by insufficient material*. This is a nick name for a player running out of time and the opponent not being able to produce a mate by any series of legal moves. What you describe is a *dead position* defined in article 5.2.b. Not that it would matter much but it is preferred to use the terms defined in the Laws.  
  > **username_1**: Whats the name in the Law then?  
  > **username_1**: Maybe you should answer the question first place, as you are an arbiter.  
  > **username_2**: Gloria Victis answered it and I upvoted. It is called *dead position* as I already wrote. I am not saying your answer is bad, it provides additional insight to understand the idea, which some people may welcome. My comment applies equally to the other answer linking the same article. I just do not want to flood the page with the same comments. Obviously everyone up voting username_3's answer should up vote yours as well.  
  > **username_3**: @username_2: I think an answer to this question should mention the phrase "draw by insufficient mating material" because that's just the way it is generally referred to, even if it apparently isn't the official name.  
  > **username_2**: @username_3 Mentioning it is fine but the proper meaning should be explained. There are problems with using unofficial terms like this. One is that it is hard to say how other people understand it. My understanding of *draw by insufficient material* is that it refers to a situation where one player runs out of time but his King cannot be checkmated. Your understanding may be different and it probably is judging from your answer. Even the article you linked to is not consistent in the use of the two terms (see example G).  
  > **username_2**: @username_3 In general people under appreciate the significance of *dead position*. If you keep calling it *draw by insufficient material* they will never learn to use the correct term and understand it properly. The OP for instance seems not to have heard neither of these terms before and you would miss the opportunity to teach them the right term right away.  
  > **username_4**: If a player in time trouble claims that a position is dead, is there any official mechanism for resolving that?  I would think a completely fair and practical approach would be for the player making the claim to grant the opponent irrevokable authority over his pieces, whereupon if the position isn't dead the opponent should be able to secure a checkmate, but I know of no such rule.  
  > **username_5**: Great response, except for the distracting use of the wrong term. Please forgive: I have made minimal changes to preserve your spirit but correct the terminology.  
  > **username_5**: However, to answer the particular question about chess software, it would be very hard to automatically identify all dead positions. (There are some very tricky cases.) On the other hand, the subset of positions with insufficient material is easy to identify.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_6 on 2016-01-16. Score: 6
  
  Yes, since it is not possible to produce a checkmate in these circumstances.
  
  See also the FIDE rules:
  
  > 1.3 If the position is such that neither player can possibly checkmate the opponent’s king, the game is drawn (see Article 5.2 b).
  >
  > 5.2 b The game is drawn when a position has arisen in which neither player can checkmate the opponent’s king with any series of legal moves. The game is said to end in a ‘dead position’. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing the position was in accordance with Article 3 and Articles 4.2 – 4.7.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2016-01-16. Score: 2
  
  Yes, in these two cases there is [insufficient mating material](http://www.e4ec.org/immr.html) and the game will always end in a draw.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_5**: That's a good response to the question, and makes no claims about names of FIDE rules.  
  
  ---
  
  