Is it possible to win chess with only a king

You would normally expect a player in a losing position to resign rather than a player in a winning position. However, the rules do not prevent a resignation from a winning player and there are circumstances where this might be essential.

For example, if a player was to receive a call requiring their attendance elsewhere, they might offer a draw to their opponent, who is under no obligation to accept this, and if the opponent refused , they might resign in order to take their leave from the game. There is also the outside possibility that the player with the winning position has somehow done something that infringes the rules either of the game or the tournament in which the game is being played in.

If this is the case and the behavior has been sufficiently egregious, the arbiter might come to a decision that results in their disqualification from the game. Thus, the player with only the king on the board might win the game. In our experience, this is never going to happen. However, as you can see that leaves 3 ways to win at chess with only a king on the board. Nothing happens when the king is alone on the chess board. Then you're an accidental chess master, ACM. Then you would be a swindler chess master, SCM.

Jan 11, Log In or Join. Forums Hot Topics. Most Recent. Optimal rapid time control? Is it possible to make a solo chess puzzle? Automate not available anymore? Bastorka 5 min ago. Why does society hate chess? When both players have only a king and bishop of the same colour, it is impossible for either player to checkmate. King and bishop are not able to give checkmate when an opponent has king and rook.

Even with the most favourable position for Black seen in the example to the right, if White plays R-b2, after Bxb2, we have the drawn position given in Case 2. Naturally, this case is a draw only if the player with the rook runs out of time. Given Case 5, it is clear that king and bishop cannot force checkmate when an opponent has a queen.

Once again, this case is a draw only if the player with king and queen runs out of time. It is possible for a king and knight to deliver checkmate when an opponent has only king and rook, but not if he or she has king and queen.

This case is a draw only if the player with king and queen runs out of time. FIDE regulations state that blitz games are not considered to be a draw just because a theoretically drawn position has been reached see below.

The reasoning behind this is that with the short period of thinking time available in these time controls, it is much more likely that players will make mistakes, instead of playing the best moves required to achieve a draw. In short, theory is of little practical relevance in the chaotic world of blitz chess. We again remind you that "The game is drawn when a position is reached from which a checkmate cannot occur by any possible series of legal moves" FIDE Laws of Chess art.

The only exceptions to this rule regard some very rare positions that are completely closed or blocked. This is because there is not enough time for the automatic system to analyze such positions at sufficient depth to realise that checkmate is impossible.

In the example to the right, After 1… Kc1! However, if Black blunders and plays 1… Ka1?? For this reason, if Black runs out of time, White is awarded the game. On the other hand, if White is the one who runs out of time, the game is declared a draw as Black has only the king. The player either loses, or the game ends in a draw.

However, when only the kings are left, the game immediately ends in a draw due to insufficient mating material. In simple words, insufficient mating material means not having enough chess pieces to checkmate the king. Not just with king vs king, it also occurs with the following combination:. Hence, as soon as you are left with only a king, forget the dream of winning the game. There will be only two outcomes, either you lose or the game ends in a draw.

Now you may ask, what happens if the opponent makes illegal moves or runs out of time in this condition? As per the standard rules, if your opponent makes two illegal moves then he or she will lose the game. But if you cannot checkmate your opponent by any series of legal moves and that is what known as having insufficient mating material , then the game is drawn.

Moreover, if your opponent runs out of time, then technically, he or she should lose the game. But if you have insufficient mating material, then again, the game will end in a draw. With Rules.

So as you can see in whatever case you mention, it is impossible to win in chess with just a king. On top of that, if both you and your opponent have the king as the last chess piece, then the game is drawn just because of the same reason.