Stalemate
Stalemate is a draw that occurs when the side on move has no legal move at all while its king is not attacked, so the game ends on the spot with half a point to each player.
Three conditions have to hold together: it is your turn, your king is not in check, and every move you could make with every piece, pawns included, is illegal. Remove any one of them and the game goes on. A pawn that can still advance, or a piece with even a pointless move, is enough to avoid it.
It is the classic way to throw away a won ending. The side with the queen or the extra pawn tightens the net one move too early and leaves the lone king boxed in but unchecked. The king and pawn version in the example is one every player should recognize: with the pawn on the seventh and the defending king in front of it, whose turn it is decides between a new queen and a draw.
For the defender, stalemate is a lifeline. When your king has no squares, every other piece you own becomes a burden you may want to get rid of. A rook that offers itself on every move, sometimes called a mad or rampant rook, can leave the opponent choosing between capturing it, which stalemates you, and letting the checks go on.
The practical habit is simple. Before any move that takes away the enemy king's last free square, ask whether the move gives check. If it does not, count the opponent's legal moves, including pawn pushes, and make sure at least one remains.
It sits close to Insufficient mating material. Insufficient mating material describes a position in which neither side has enough pieces to deliver checkmate by any legal sequence, which the Laws treat as a dead position and a draw.
Also worth reading is King and queen checkmate. King and queen checkmate is the basic ending in which a king and queen force mate against a lone king, using the queen to confine it and the king to help deliver the final check.
It sits close to Queen versus pawn. Queen versus pawn is an endgame in which a queen faces an enemy pawn that is about to promote, and the queen usually wins except against a bishop or rook pawn defended by a nearby king.
If "Stalemate" has cost you half a point, a first lesson is a good place to find the pattern behind it: George Li goes through your games and builds a plan.
Related terms
A stalemate trick is a resource for the side that is losing: it forces the stronger side into a position where the weaker side has no legal move and is not in check, so the game is drawn.
A dead position is one in which checkmate can no longer happen for either side, however the moves go and however cooperative the players are, and the game ends as a draw the moment it arises.
Checkmate, or mate, ends a chess game at once: the king of the side to move is under attack, and none of that side's legal moves can remove the attack, so the player who delivered it wins.
King and queen checkmate is the basic ending in which a king and queen force mate against a lone king, using the queen to confine it and the king to help deliver the final check.
A king and pawn endgame is an ending in which only kings and pawns remain, so the result depends on promotion races, king placement, opposition, and exact counting of moves.
Queen versus pawn is an endgame in which a queen faces an enemy pawn that is about to promote, and the queen usually wins except against a bishop or rook pawn defended by a nearby king.
Guides that go further
What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid.
How much does chess coaching cost?
Published rates for private, group and subscription chess coaching, with the source and the date of each.
A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li.
Want to spot this in your own games?
A first lesson starts with your games: George reviews them and builds a study plan around what he finds.