How many ways can you, as a player, win a game of chess? Think about it before you read further. We’ll give you the first one, “(1) You can win by checkmate. This is the main, and ultimate, goal of the game.” Now let’s see how many other ways to win you can think of.
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(1) You can win by checkmate. This is the main, and ultimate, goal of the game.
(2) You can win by your opponent resigning. It also shortens the game.
(3) You can win by your opponent exceeding the time limit for specified number of moves. Usually referred to as a time loss.
(4) You can win by your opponent not showing up for the start of the game. This differs from the above as no moves are necessary.
(5) Adjourning a game used to be more popular years ago. It consists of Tournament Director (TD) stopping the game and requesting a player to write down his next move on a card (without his opponent know what the move it is, of course), sealing that card in an envelope, and then sealing that envelope, the scoresheets, and the clock times in a larger envelope. The game is resumed at a later time.
If upon resumption, a player’s sealed move is found to be illegal or missing, then the opponent is awarded the game.
(6) If a correspondence game is in danger of going over a prearranged time limit (e.g. three years), then the game score is to be submitted to an arbitrator for adjudication who will determine the winner of the game. If he decides that with best play you would win the game, then you win the game.
(7) If during a thematic tournament, an opponent refuses to play the specified opening, he can be forfeited. Rarely happens as players who enter a thematic tournament do so because they WANT to play that opening.
(8) Any action that a TD determines to be cheating, disruptive, or anything other action that violates the laws or ethics of the game, can be declared a loss of the game by the player who is guilty of the offence. GM So recently lost a game because he kept writing positive affirmations on his score sheet, even after repeated warnings. The rules of chess state only chess moves (and other necessary items, like the opponent’s name), may be written on the score sheet.
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How many did you get? Do you agree with this list?
The Gambit Chess Player 