fivefold repetition

In chess, the threefold repetition rule states that a player may claim a draw if the same position occurs three times during the game. The rule is also known as repetition of position and, in the USCF rules, as triple occurrence of position.Article 14K.2 in Two positions are by definition "the same" if the same types of pieces occupy the same squares, the same player has the move, the remaining castling rights are the same and the possibility to capture ''en passant'' is the same. The repeated positions need not occur in succession. The reasoning behind the rule is that if the position occurs three times, no real progress is being made and the game could hypothetically continue indefinitely.

The game is not automatically drawn if a position occurs for the third time – one of the players, on their turn, must claim the draw with the arbiter. The claim must be made either before making the move which will produce the third repetition, or after the opponent has made a move producing a third repetition. By contrast, the fivefold repetition rule requires the arbiter to intervene and declare the game drawn if the same position occurs five times, needing no claim by the players.

Similar rules exist in other abstract strategy games such as xiangqi and shogi (cf. '' sennichite'') whereas in Go, repetition of any previous board position is completely disallowed in the first place.

Internet chess servers differ in their handling of draw by repetition. For example, Lichess adheres to the FIDE Laws of Chess, whereas Chess.com draws the game immediately upon a position's third occurrence.

Statement of the rule

The relevant rules in the FIDE laws of chess are summarized as:

:The game is a draw if a position occurs (at least) three times during the game. (Intervening moves do not matter.) It must be claimed by the player with the turn to move. The claim is made:

::(a) If the position is about to appear for the third time, the player making the claim first writes their move on their and notifies the that they intend to make this move.

::or

::(b) If the position has just appeared for the third time, the player with the move can claim the draw.

: Positions are considered the same if
: (1) the same player has the move,
: (2) pieces of the same kind and color occupy the same squares, and
: (3) the possible moves of all the pieces are the same.

: Under (3) above, positions are not considered to be the same if:
::(a) in the first position, a pawn could have been captured ''en passant'' (by the ''en passant'' rule, in the subsequent positions, the pawn cannot be captured ''en passant'' anymore), or
::(b) either player has lost a right to castle, i.e. either king or one of the rooks has been moved, in between repetitions of the position.

Although a threefold repetition usually occurs after consecutive moves, there is no requirement that the moves be consecutive for a claim to be valid. The intermediate positions and moves do not matter – they can be the same or different. The rule applies to ''positions'', not ''moves''.

Perpetual check is no longer specifically mentioned in the rules of chess; such a situation will eventually resolve to a draw either by repetition, fifty-move rule or (most commonly) by agreement.

If the claim for a draw is incorrect, the opponent is awarded an extra two minutes, the written move if being a legal move must be played and the game continues. Unreasonable claims may be penalized under rule 11.5, which forbids distracting or annoying the opponent. Even if the claim is incorrect, any draw claim is also a draw offer that the opponent may accept.

The fivefold repetition rule was introduced in 2014 providing for a mandatory draw in the event of a fivefold repetition.

Examples

1972 World Championship

The seventeenth and eighteenth game of the 1972 World Championship match in Reykjavik between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky were declared draws because of threefold repetition. The twentieth game was drawn after an incorrect claim (see incorrect claims below).

Fischer versus Petrosian, 1971

In the third game of the 1971 Candidates Final Match in Buenos Aires between Bobby Fischer and Tigran Petrosian, Petrosian (with a better position) accidentally allowed the position after 30.Qe2 (see diagram) to be repeated three times. Play continued:
: 30... Qe5
: 31. Qh5 Qf6 (31... Qxf4 32. Qxf7+ also leads to threefold repetition)
: 32. Qe2 (second time) Re5
: 33. Qd3 Rd5?
and then Fischer wrote his next move
: 34. Qe2 (third time) ½-½
on his , which is the third appearance of the position with Black to move, and he claimed a draw. At first Petrosian was not aware of what was going on. Incidentally, this was the first time a draw by threefold repetition had been claimed in his career. This also illustrates that the intermediate moves do not need to be the same – just the positions.

Capablanca versus Lasker, 1921

As noted above, one of the players must claim a draw by threefold repetition for the rule to be applied, otherwise the game continues. In the fifth game of the 1921 World Chess Championship match in Havana between José Raúl Capablanca and Emanuel Lasker, the same position occurred three times, but no draw was claimed. After 34...h5 (see diagram), the moves were:

: 35. Qd8+ Kg7
: 36. Qg5+ Kf8 (second time)
: 37. Qd8+ Kg7
: 38. Qg5+ Kf8 (third time)

The game continued; Lasker blundered and resigned on move 46. Capablanca repeated the position to gain time on the clock (i.e. get in some quick moves before time control). (Capablanca went on to win the match and became world champion.)

Two games between Alekhine and Lasker, 1914

The game between Alexander Alekhine and world champion Emanuel Lasker in Moscow 1914 ended in a short draw. After 16.Qg6 (see diagram) the players agreed to a draw because Alekhine can force the threefold repetition, for example 16...Qe8 17.Qxh6+ Kg8 18.Qg5+ Kh8 19.Qh6+ (under ''repetition of position'').

In the first game between the two players in the St. Petersburg tournament 1914, Alekhine, this time with the black pieces, after 21.Qd4 (see diagram), forced a draw by threefold repetition using a similar process.

Portisch versus Korchnoi, 1970

A famous draw for threefold repetition occurred in the fourth game between Lajos Portisch and Viktor Korchnoi in Belgrade in the Russia (USSR) vs Rest of the World 1970 match. After 21...Qb5 (see diagram), in a clearly better position, Portisch allowed this position to repeat three times and was criticized by teammate Bobby Fischer for allowing it. If Portisch had won the game, the match would have been a tie. Play continued:

: 22.Bf1 Qc6
: 23.Bg2 Qb5 (second time)
: 24.Bf1 Qc6
: 25.Bg2 ½-½

allowing Black to claim the threefold repetition with 25...Qb5.

Kasparov versus Deep Blue, 1997

In the game between Garry Kasparov and Deep Blue in New York 1997, the game ended with a draw by agreement, because after 49...Kb4 (see diagram) if White plays 50.g8=Q, Black can force perpetual check and claim a draw after 54.Kb1 by threefold repetition:

: 50...Rd1+
: 51.Ka2, Kb2 or Kc2 Rd2+
: 52.Kb1 (second time) Rd1+
: 53.Ka2, Kb2 or Kc2 Rd2+
: 54.Kb1 (third time)

Khamparia vs Bo, 2018

To detect fivefold repetitions can be challenging for the arbiter. In the game Akshat Khamparia vs Li Bo, Budapest 2018, Li twice requested a draw, saying simply "repetition". Both times the request was rejected because it was not made correctly according to the threefold repetition rule. Li was later checkmated. Li discussed the result and eventually said "five". The arbiter was able to verify fivefold repetition at moves 60, 62, 68, 73 and 75. Had the fivefold repetition rule not been in effect, the result would have stood, as no correct claim for threefold repetition had been made. Under the fivefold repetition rule, however, the fifth occurrence of a position immediately terminates the game, and subsequent moves become irrelevant. The result was therefore overturned, and the game was declared a draw.The PGN of the game is contained in the following FIDE rating page

Opening line

An Austrian Attack line from the Pirc Defence has been analyzed out to a draw by threefold repetition. After the moves 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6 fxe6 9.Ng5 Bxb5! 10.Nxe6 Bxd4! 11.Nxd8 (see diagram) Black can force perpetual check and so the draw by the following moves:

: 11...Bf2+
: 12.Kd2 (first time) Be3+
: 13.Ke1 Bf2+
: 14.Kd2 (second time) Be3+
: 15.Ke1 Bf2+
: 16.Kd2 (third time)

15...Bf2+ is only a twofold repetition, as White lost their castling right only after 12.Kd2. Threefold repetition will be in effect on the next occurrence of the position.

Grandmaster draws

A grandmaster draw is characterised as a short draw between high-level players, typically intended to hold position without the expenditure of mental energy. As short draws by agreement are sometimes frowned upon or outright banned in tournaments, some players circumvent such rules by playing out lines known to end in threefold repetition draws. The Berlin draw in the Ruy Lopez is one of the more commonly used lines, while Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases