Hello guys,

Nice to meet you all!

I am a newbie to chess, just started few months back. I need your help with regards to a rule which apparently, I can't grasp... As per subject, draw for insufficient material, WHY? I can understand of course the semantic but what does that mean in reality?

If You look at the last game I played few minutes ago I got a draw, despite having almost 4 minutes left and the opponent ran out of time despite being in advantage. The guy could not checkmate me for like a minute with 3/4 pieces and then when the time was over I got the DRAW? why that? it is possible to checkmate a king against a rook, bishop and king.. 

The point I miss is... if he does checkmate he wins and that's clear, If he does not because I manage to do the right moves we get a draw.. 

Can you please enlighten me with the rule applied here? The draw because of insufficient material should not be when both players are just left with only the king?

Thanks.

Luca

What does ‘insufficient mating material’ mean?

So you’re playing a game of chess, and are getting near the end. There are only a few pieces left, and one more is captured! But then… the game ends in a draw, and you get the message ‘insufficient mating material.’ What does this mean? 

The insufficient mating material rule says that the game is immediately declared a draw if there is no way to end the game in checkmate. 

The most common way that this happens is when the game is down to just two kings. There is no possible way to get checkmate--even if your opponent blunders--so the game is declared a draw. 

There are other combinations that will cause a draw that are not as obvious:

If both sides have any one of the following, and there are no pawns on the board: 

• A lone king 
• a king and bishop
• a king and knight

In the above scenarios the game will end in a draw, because it is not possible to force mate against a lone king with that material. You have a king and bishop your opponent has a king and bishop? It’s a draw! A king and bishop vs a king and a knight? Draw! And so on. 

-A king and two knights

This scenario is a bit different. On Chess.com a King and two knights is only considered insufficient material when against a lone king. So if a king and two knights versus a king and a bishop is on the board, the game will continue, however, if the bishop or one of the knights is lost, the game will then end in a draw. This is because, counterintuitively, it is easier to check mate a king and another piece with two knights, than it is to checkmate a lone king with two knights.

Some of the above situations might be treated slightly differently in FIDE or USCF tournaments, or on other sites.

In the specific case of two knights versus a lone king, USCF rule specifies that the game is drawn because there is no forced mate. The FIDE rule specifies that the game is drawn only when there is no possible mate, and so would not include two knights vs a king as an automatic draw, since it is technically possible to checkmate the king if the king 'helps' you by making specific moves to allow the checkmate. However, Chess.com follows the USCF rule in this case, and calls two knights insufficient mating material because the checkmate can not be forced.

Click here to read a more in depth article on all the different ways to draw and rules on draws! 

https://support.chess.com/article/128-what-does-insufficient-mating-material-mean

Thanks for the post but I still don't understand in my case. My opponent had king, rook and knight. You can defintely check mate with these 3 pieces.. It does not make sense for me..

I get the whole point but since he has the means to checkmate me but he can't in a minute and I still have 4 minutes left, I should win because of time.. but ok i dont make the rules

Given infinite time, your king could never checkmate your opponent, so how does it make sense you should win on time? The best outcome with that material is a draw.

The site uses a rule more similar to the US Chess implementation for insufficient material to mate on timeout than FIDE, but both agree a lone king can never win in that situation. For FIDE, mate just has to be possible by any series of legal moves.

OK I agree that i cant mate anyone, this is not under discussion. However in a time limit kind of game the time does count in order to win. In a standard game when both players still have materials,  and one runs out of time, the player with more time left wins...  if I have only the king and I dont happen to go in stalemate, and you cant mate me with 3 pieces you should lose if you run out time...but again that's my opinion, it doesnt matter if the rules are different.. thanks for clarifying it.

No, winning or losing depends on checkmate or the potential to checkmate. The clock is a restraint on the game but is not the final arbiter.

So, if the click runs out, you look at the board and see what's possible; if it's not possible for the side with time to mate, it makes absolutely no sense for them to get a win. The decision in what counts as sufficient has room for debate, in the case of the FIDE vs US Chess implementations, certainly not lone kings.

thanks all for claryfing it

thank u

@2

"You have a king and bishop your opponent has a king and bishop? It’s a draw!
A king and bishop vs a king and a knight?" 
No.

Can you please explain why this wouldn't be a draw from insufficient material? There is no way I can possibly mate him, and as far as I understood both players need the potential to mate each other, otherwise it's a draw when the clock runs out?

White ran out of time, not black.