Is this position a draw?

[FEN ""]

I don't mean to ask the age-old question "Is chess a draw?"; four moves have been played here, returning to the starting position. Since the start position has appeared three times, it seems that white can claim a draw by threefold repetition. However, lichess does not permit this claim, which got me thinking that perhaps there is a subtlety to the rules.

FIDE says:








  • 1
    So, the actual question here would be "Can Black claim a draw after White plays 4.Ng1? Am I right? – David Sep 17 '19 at 8:38

This is a better question than it seems at first glance.




and 1.1 about the start of the game:



  • 1
  • 2
  • 2
  • 3

This is a funny situation - in a FIDE tournament, it depends on whether you're talking about White or Black. To claim a draw in FIDE tournaments the procedure is as follows:

1) Write down the move you are planning to make that will result in a three-fold repetition. Do NOT make the move.

2) Call over the arbiter and explain what move you're about to make, and how this results in a three-fold. The arbiter checks it over and declares the game drawn.

So after 4.Ng1, if Black wanted to claim a draw he'd write 4...Ng8 down and call the arbiter over. The game would then be declared drawn. If he actually made the move 4...Ng8 and tried calling the aribter over, he could not claim a draw since it's not his turn. It's extremely weird, but this is how it works. So assuming the diagram position has been reached in a real game, Black could not claim a draw there (it's not his turn).

Meanwhile, White could claim a draw in the position you posted. Not because of the fact that the position has been repeated three times, but because if he moves 5.Nf3, the resulting position has been seen three times. So he'd write down 5.Nf3, call the aribter over, etc.

I've known people who have missed out on a draw and ending up losing their game because they weren't aware of this technicality in FIDE tournaments. It's borderline ridiculous but those are the rules.

Your Answer

