One way a draw can result is if no series of legal moves could result
in checkmate. Usually that means insufficient material to mate, but
is it possible to have a position which has sufficient pieces, but
they are permanently blocked so no checkmate is possible?
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Maybe Bishops of opposite color each protecting a pawn or two on squares of
their own color.


"Jud McCranie" wrote in message
...
One way a draw can result is if no series of legal moves could result
in checkmate. Usually that means insufficient material to mate, but
is it possible to have a position which has sufficient pieces, but
they are permanently blocked so no checkmate is possible?
---
Replace you know what by j to email

Jud McCranie wrote:

One way a draw can result is if no series of legal moves could result
in checkmate. Usually that means insufficient material to mate, but
is it possible to have a position which has sufficient pieces, but
they are permanently blocked so no checkmate is possible?


4k3
8
8
8
p1p3p1
PpPp1pPp
1P1P1P1P
1NB1K3

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

On 16 Feb 2006 00:03:05 GMT, CeeBee
wrote:

Stalemate.

I mean a position that is not stalemate, but at least one side has
sufficient mating material, but checkmate is impossible.
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Jud McCranie wrote:
One way a draw can result is if no series of legal moves could result
in checkmate. Usually that means insufficient material to mate, but
is it possible to have a position which has sufficient pieces, but
they are permanently blocked so no checkmate is possible?

Yes, if the pawns are blocking each other, so that no one can move and
the kings can not reach an opposite pawn.

Greetings,
Ralf

In article ,
"John J." wrote:

Maybe Bishops of opposite color each protecting a pawn or two on squares of
their own color.


But there's certainly a sequence of legal moves here which would give
checkmate: one side lets the other side's king gobble up the pawns and
the bishop.

--Harold Buck


"Hubris always wins in the end. The Greeks taught us that."

-Homer J. Simpson

On Thu, 16 Feb 2006 01:40:53 +0100, Ralf Callenberg
wrote:

Yes, if the pawns are blocking each other, so that no one can move and
the kings can not reach an opposite pawn.

OK, so white pawns at a4, b5, c4, d5, etc; black pawns opposite them,
each king behind its own pawns. Thanks!
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In article ,
Ralf Callenberg wrote:

Jud McCranie wrote:
One way a draw can result is if no series of legal moves could result
in checkmate. Usually that means insufficient material to mate, but
is it possible to have a position which has sufficient pieces, but
they are permanently blocked so no checkmate is possible?

Yes, if the pawns are blocking each other, so that no one can move and
the kings can not reach an opposite pawn.


Ah, so if you have an interlocked chain of pawns across the board and
the kings can't cross over. Good point!

--Harold Buck


"Hubris always wins in the end. The Greeks taught us that."

-Homer J. Simpson

In article ,
Jud McCranie wrote:

On Thu, 16 Feb 2006 01:40:53 +0100, Ralf Callenberg
wrote:

Yes, if the pawns are blocking each other, so that no one can move and
the kings can not reach an opposite pawn.

OK, so white pawns at a4, b5, c4, d5, etc; black pawns opposite them,
each king behind its own pawns. Thanks!
---


Actually, no, because there's still a legal sequence of moves that leads
to mate (one of the kings could go run to the other side of the board).
Of course, there is no *forced* mate.

--Harold Buck


"Hubris always wins in the end. The Greeks taught us that."

-Homer J. Simpson

On Wed, 15 Feb 2006 20:22:25 -0600, Harold Buck
wrote:
OK, so white pawns at a4, b5, c4, d5, etc; black pawns opposite them,
each king behind its own pawns. Thanks!
---

Actually, no, because there's still a legal sequence of moves that leads
to mate (one of the kings could go run to the other side of the board).
Of course, there is no *forced* mate.

I said "etc", so what if white pawns are on a4, b5, c4, d5, e4, f5,
g4, and h5. Black pawns are on 15, b4, c5, d4, e5, f4, g5, h4. White
king on e1 black king on e8? Or you could leave off the rook pawns,
or any file as long as there are blocked pawns in the right place on
either side, such as white pawns on a4, c4, e4, g4; black pawns on a5,
c5, e5, g5; kings as before.
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