Can You Win in Chess Without a Checkmate? 5 Ways to Win
Delivering a checkmate is the best moment in any chess game; it’s the culmination of all your hard work, and it’s an addicting feeling to win by checkmate, but is it the only way to win at chess?
The simple answer is that no, it is not.
You can win in chess without a checkmate by resignation, time, or an illegal move. Your opponent can resign, which means they voluntarily end the game, and you win, or you can win if your opponent runs out of time on their clock or violates one of the game’s rules.
This may be surprising to new chess players, so let’s take a minute and explain how you can win in different situations in chess games. Keep reading, and I promise I’ll try to make it as simple as possible.
The Possible Results of any chess game
The possible results of a chess game are a win, a loss, or a draw. In chess, a win is achieved when a player puts their opponent’s king in a position where it is under threat of capture, also known as checkmate, and the opponent cannot make a legal move to escape.
A loss occurs when a player’s king is checkmated, resigns, or runs out of time on the clock.
A draw can occur in several ways, such as a stalemate where a player is not in check but cannot make a legal move, insufficient material to checkmate, repetition of the same position three times, or both players agreeing to a draw.
There are also some less common ways a game can be drawn, such as the 50-move rule and the 75-move rule.
A very rare result is when both players lose a chess match, which can happen when both players do something that violates the governing organization rules; for example, if both players agree to a draw before the game in exchange for something, like money or fixing the result of another chess game.
This is very rare at the top level and is basically corruption.
Different Ways for Chess Games to end in Victories
When you first learn how to play chess, you are told that you win by a checkmate, which is factually correct. For either side to win, they must checkmate the other side’s king.
Realistically, though, as you get better at chess, you will win very few games by a checkmate, and most of your games will simply end other ways.
Another misconception that new chess players have is that they must announce their checks and checkmates, which is not entirely true. I discuss this further in this post on whether you should say check in chess, so make sure to check it out.
Here are the different ways you can win a chess game:
- Checkmate
- Resignation
- Time control
- Making a second illegal move
- Cheating
Let’s quickly explain each of those:
Checkmate
Checkmate occurs when the king is in a position to be captured (in check) and cannot escape capture on the next move.
he game is immediately over, and the player who has placed the opponent’s king in checkmate wins the game.
This is the most common and traditional way of winning a chess game, but it’s getting less common every day, and you will win fewer and fewer games as you play against stronger players.
But why? Because getting checkmated on the board means you overlooked it, and it’s considered humiliating to overlook a checkmate, so strong players will almost always resign a few moves before a forced checkmate occurs. A forced checkmate means there is no defence or escape from it.
Resignation
A player may resign at any time during the game, conceding victory to the opponent. Resigning is a common way to concede defeat when a player believes they have no hope of winning.
This may come as a surprise to new chess players who believe they can fight until the very last move, so let’s quickly explain why most chess games actually end in a simple resignation;
Players may resign for several reasons, including:
- A Forced checkmate: A player will resign if there is no defense against an incoming checkmate.
- Positional disadvantage: A player may resign when they believe their position is significantly worse than their opponent’s and there is no reasonable chance of recovering.
- Material disadvantage: A player may resign when they are down in material (i.e., pieces and pawns) and believe they cannot recover without severe blunders from their opponent.
- Time pressure: A player may resign when they are significantly behind on time and believe they cannot make enough moves to avoid losing on time.
- Personal reasons: A player may resign for personal reasons, such as feeling unwell or experiencing a family emergency.
- Sportsmanship: A player may resign as a gesture of sportsmanship when they believe that their opponent has played a superior game and deserves the win.
- To object: This is very rare, but some chess players resign as a form of objection. Most recently, Magnus resigned against Niemann to object to Niemann not being thoroughly investigated and penalized for claimed cheating against Carlsen in a former match.
Resigning is considered a common practice in chess, and it is generally accepted as a respectful way of conceding defeat to one’s opponent.
Time control
In games played with a time limit, a player can win by their opponent’s clock running out of time before making the required number of moves. This is known as winning on time or time forfeit.
Making a second illegal move
If a player makes a second illegal move, they lose the game. The first illegal move results in a warning, and the player must make a legal move instead. However, if a second illegal move is made, the player who made the illegal move loses the game.
Cheating
If a player is caught cheating during a chess game, they can be immediately disqualified and lose the game.
Cheating can take many forms, such as using unauthorized electronic devices, receiving outside assistance, or making unauthorized changes to the board or pieces.
Cheating is considered a serious offense in chess, and penalties can be severe.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while checkmate is the most common and traditional way to win a game of chess, there are other ways to get that 1-0 or 0-1 you need.
Winning on time, through resignation, or due to an illegal move by the opponent are all legitimate ways to win a game of chess.
However, it’s important to remember that the ultimate goal of chess is not just to win but also to enjoy the game and learn from it. So go out there, play some chess, and have some fun!
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