Some began to question whether the count be started anew with each capture, since captures changed the obvious nature of the endgame. There were arguments that supported changing it to 60 moves, and others to abolish the rule altogether. The 50-move rule encountered other issues and much more debate throughout the 1800s. Some suggested that bystanders should rule if a position was appropriate for a 50-move count, since defining the kind of position was too vague in the general laws – but what guidelines were the bystanders to use? Staunton in 1847 said: "The law on the subject of fifty moves at the end of the game is too indefinite". But there was no clearly worded definition of when a 50-move limit might be appropriately demanded. Arguments were made for the 50-move rule to apply to more situations where a player didn't have the skill to win a won endgame, or played endlessly without making progress in a drawn endgame. ![]() This London Club code required a player to give prior notice that he was counting the 50 moves, and also implied, by using the words "of pieces only," that only pawnless positions with some material superiority were appropriate for such a count to be imposed.īut players in that time found the criteria cited by Walker and Staunton too limiting. The law holds good for all other checkmates of pieces only, such as Queen, or Rook only, Queen against a Rook." "If a player remain at the end of the game, with a Rook and Bishop against a Rook with both Bishops only with Knight and Bishop only he must checkmate his adversary in fifty moves on each side at most, or the game will be considered as drawn the fifty moves commence from the time the adversary gives notice that he will count them. Walker focused much on pawnless endgames in which one side had an advantage that was theoretically sufficient to force mate, though he added more grounds to begin a 50-move count with "perpetual checks, or reiterated attacks involving the same forced moves in answer" - that is, a king who was being chased around the board by a player who didn't know how to achieve mate.Īn excerpt from "The Chess Player" by George Walker in 1841.Īlso in 1841, Howard Staunton published the following law from the code issued by the London Chess Club: ![]() So again, King and Queen against King and Rook have the mating power, but the superior force must not vex his adversary by persevering too long in attempting that which he is evidently too unskillful to accomplish." "By the stronger party possessing the mating power, but not knowing properly how to direct its application. Thus the King with two Bishops, against King alone, has force sufficient to mate with but if he cannot give mate in fifty moves (double moves) according to the law, his adversary is justified in claiming a draw. In his book The Chess Player in 1841, George Walker listed as one of the ways a game might be drawn: But difficult was defining those endgames in which that limit was appropriate, given the vast possibilities of situations. Early rules acknowledged a limit to the number of moves allowed to reach mate in basic endgames, though differed on that number, ranging from 24 moves up to 50 and more.Īgreed upon around the mid-1800s was the enforcement of a 50-move limit when it was unclear that a player could reach mate. The player with the won endgame might make an interminable number of moves without progress, but also without consenting to a draw. A king-and-two-bishops versus a king, or perhaps a king-and-queen versus a king-and-rook, even the basic king-and-queen versus a king poses problems among beginners. ![]() In early chess treatises, there were rules that addressed the problem of players who reached a basic, theoretically won endgame but lacked the skill to achieve a mate. The 50-move draw rule, which today states that a draw can be claimed if no capture is made and no pawn is moved for 50 consecutive moves, took centuries to reach its modern definition. This series will explore some specific rule changes for chess that have evolved over the past few centuries.Ĭlick below for earlier chapters of John McCrary's Evolution of Modern Chess Rules series: Through research into old chess literature, I've made some original discoveries regarding how modern rules and customs have evolved to reach their current state. Inventions are steps in evolution.Ĭhess rules and customs, even today, are constantly evolving. Part of the discussion is semantic, since evolution and invention are two sides of the same coin! Evolution is a series of new inventions that build upon or combine earlier designs. The question of whether chess was invented or evolved from earlier games may never be settled. ![]() Former US Chess Federation President John McCrary
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