This is Why Chess Games End with Two Kings
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The game of chess not only has strategy but it has potential too. Being left with a bare king for one side without a resignation is rare, being left with only a king for each player is a draw. Can chess end with two kings?
Chess can and does end with just two kings left on the board. This would be a draw result as checkmate can not be achieved with just a King. Chess games will rarely, if ever, reach a position with just two kings with a draw or resignation almost always declared prior to this position.
A game will be forced to end in a draw even before the position of two remaining kings comes into place, if other specific pieces are left.
Bare King is when you only have the King left in Chess.
If you have lost every piece on the board with the exception of you King, it is a position known as ‘Bare King’. There are only two possible outcomes in this scenario, as a bare king can not force checkmate
- A draw can be forced if the opponent is reduced to only King, or King With Knight, or King with Bishop
- A draw is forced if the opponent over-steps a time limit.
..overstepping the time limit results in a loss, “However, the game is drawn, if the position is such that the opponent cannot checkmate the player’s king by any possible series of legal moves, even with the most unskilled counterplay.”
FIDE’s Law of Chess 6.10
Is it a Draw in Timed Games if there are Only Two Kings left?
In timed games, if a player runs out of the allotted play time it usually results in that player losing the game. In the case of the opponent playing a bare king a draw is deemed the result as per rule 6.10 on the FIDE’s Law of Chess.
Timed games are a part and parcel of competition chess and can be utilised in recreational games if the players are likened to put a limit on the time the game will last.
In any event, if a player is left with a Bare King, resignation is the order of the day, as playing any opponent with a modicum of skill, it will be virtually impossible to force a draw.
It is Always a Draw if Just Two Kings are left in Chess
If the rare and unusual scenarios of just two kings being left on the borad toward the end of a game of chess, a pair of bare kings is a definitive draw as neither player can gain a mate position, such are the limitation in movement of the most valuable piece of the chess board.
Chess games should never finish with just two kings on the board.
Most every player resigned to playing with a single bare king will resign the position and hand the game to thier opponent. As we have seen, playing to run an opponents time down can result in a draw when a loss is staring you in the face.
A counter to this is the 50 move rule, which deems that after 50 moves for each player have been played without capture or movement of a pawn the game is drawn.
So you can see how hopeless a situation is once you are left with just your king.
Unless your opponent could potentially make a mistake to leave himself with just a knight or bishop to accompany his King, [which forces a draw too], there is little point in playing on.
King-Bishop or King-Knight can not force Checkmate in Chess
Another situation where a draw is inevitable outside of being left with two kings is a position where a player has only King Bishop, or King Knight eft as a pair of pieces.
If you end up with just these two pieces in a game you should resign your position and the game.
It is impossible to force a checkmate in a game of chess if you have only a Knight or a bishop left with your King.
If you get to this point the right thing to do is resign and hand your opponent the win.
You could play on and force the draw if you could remove all the opponent’s pieces, save for a knight or bishop too, as it is impossible to force checkmate with just these pieces.
Other Questions the Same or slightly different on this subject
This question is asked and asked in varying manner of ways. Read on if you so wish f for nothing more than amusement on the elaborate way the samequestion may be asked by different people. The answer is the same regardless of the question.
Some of the examples I have seen include
What happens if me and my opponent only have kings?
In the [extremely] rare likelihood of two players being left with just one king to play with the game would be a stalemate and a draw
Is it ever possible to win of the only pieces left are two kings and a knight?
A win is not possible with two kings and a knight on the board. King/Knight is not a sufficient combination to create checkmate in any instance.
Could two kings force a checkmate against a lone king?
It is not legal in virtually all forms of chess to have two kings on one side. This question has been seen often and perhaps refers to another variant of the game, one which has never been explained alongside the question.
Can Two Kings Stand Next to Each Other?
Two Kings can not occupy adjacent squares on a chess board. To move one king to an adjacent square is impossible and is not a possible move in the game of chess.
Is there an instance where a King is mated by another King in a chess game?
Because of the rules of the game of chess it is impossible for a king to place another king in check as it would in turn be placing itself in check. So, you can not check a king with a king, let alone checkmate a king with a king.
