user3812: When playing against a novice player, how can you attempt to force stalemate (please don't ask how you would get there against a novice player)

user291: I assume you are asking how to force your opponent to stalemate you, rather than vice versa.

Get rid of almost all of your pieces, except for your queen or rooks, or pieces that are pinned against your king.
Make sure all your pawns are blocked and can't move.
Make sure your king has no legal moves.
Check his king relentlessly with whatever pieces remain, feeling free to place the pieces where they can be taken, such as adjacent to his king.
Ideally, you are now in a situation where either he will be subject to perpetual check or he will take all your remaining pieces and you will be stalemated.

Keep in mind that this is not an actual strategy that ever works except 1) against novices, 2) in blitz games, or 3) in very rare circumstances in serious games. But those circumstances do exist. Generally you find that two of the first three steps in this process have already happened and start looking for ways to engineer the rest. Evans-Reshevsky is the most famous example of a stalemate swindle in top-level play.

3812: <p>When playing against a novice player, how can you attempt to force stalemate (please don't ask how you would get there against a novice player)</p>
 291: <p>I assume you are asking how to force your opponent to stalemate you, rather than vice versa.</p>

<ol>
<li>Get rid of almost all of your pieces, except for your queen or rooks, or pieces that are pinned against your king.</li>
<li>Make sure all your pawns are blocked and can't move.</li>
<li>Make sure your king has no legal moves.</li>
<li>Check his king relentlessly with whatever pieces remain, feeling free to place the pieces where they can be taken, such as adjacent to his king.</li>
<li>Ideally, you are now in a situation where either he will be subject to perpetual check or he will take all your remaining pieces and you will be stalemated.</li>
</ol>

<p>Keep in mind that this is not an actual strategy that ever works except 1) against novices, 2) in blitz games, or 3) in very rare circumstances in serious games. But those circumstances do exist. Generally you find that two of the first three steps in this process have already happened and start looking for ways to engineer the rest. <a href="http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1252040" rel="noreferrer">Evans-Reshevsky</a> is the most famous example of a stalemate swindle in top-level play.</p>
