Your opponent has nowhere to move his king, but his king is not in check.
Therefore, stalemate.
Were I too much in the lead to collect a queen and should have been able to win without it?
You were planning on promoting all the other pawns to queens correct?
Unfortunately, the promotion to queen prevented Black from moving to h5. For most players who stalemate using queens, they usually notice horizontal moves of the queen easily but often overlook diagonal moves like the situation you are facing.
Were I too much in the lead to collect a queen and should have been able to win without it?
You were planning on promoting all the other pawns to queens correct?
Unfortunately, the promotion to queen prevented Black from moving to h5. For most players who stalemate using queens, they usually notice horizontal moves of the queen easily but often overlook diagonal moves like the situation you are facing.
Not all others too, just the one I just promoted with e8.
Yeah I didnt know about this rule when I played that.
In chess you can draw/tie the game a variety of ways. Some ways include:
1. Draws by agreement - when both players agree to a draw, often because they neither player can make meaningful progress.
2. Threefold repetition - when the exact same board position is reached in the game 3 times. With grandmasters this can be for the same reason as above, they can't progress so they shuffle the same piece back and forth to offer draws, in lower elos this can be an accident.
3. The 50 Move Rule - if after 50 moves no player has made any progress by moving a pawn or capturing a piece, either player could claim a draw.
4. Insufficient Mating Material - if neither side has no way to checkmate the other player, such as having only 1 knight or 1 bishop the game will end in a draw. However this rule can vary across different platforms or rulesets, such as if it's literally impossible or just not happening unless someone commits a major blunder.
5. Stalemate - this one's for you and is very common to confused new players: if a player has ZERO legal moves, but is NOT in check, then the game ends in a draw/tie by stalemate - even if you're obliterating your opponent and they have no way to win.
This is why you have to make sure you know how to checkmate with different pieces, and if you're winning, to put your opponent in check or if you're trying to contain him to move another piece to help mate that you ensure he has at least 1 legal move.
Also this is why in low elo you never resign, since not only can your opponent blunder (and likely to!) but you can steal the game with a stalemate.
In chess you can draw/tie the game a variety of ways. Some ways include:
1. Draws by agreement - when both players agree to a draw, often because they neither player can make meaningful progress.
2. Threefold repetition - when the exact same board position is reached in the game 3 times. With grandmasters this can be for the same reason as above, they can't progress so they shuffle the same piece back and forth to offer draws, in lower elos this can be an accident.
3. The 50 Move Rule - if after 50 moves no player has made any progress by moving a pawn or capturing a piece, either player could claim a draw.
4. Insufficient Mating Material - if neither side has no way to checkmate the other player, such as having only 1 knight or 1 bishop the game will end in a draw. However this rule can vary across different platforms or rulesets, such as if it's literally impossible or just not happening unless someone commits a major blunder.
5. Stalemate - this one's for you and is very common to confused new players: if a player has ZERO legal moves, but is NOT in check, then the game ends in a draw/tie by stalemate - even if you're obliterating your opponent and they have no way to win.
This is why you have to make sure you know how to checkmate with different pieces, and if you're winning, to put your opponent in check or if you're trying to contain him to move another piece to help mate that you ensure he has at least 1 legal move.
Also this is why in low elo you never resign, since not only can your opponent blunder (and likely to!) but you can steal the game with a stalemate.
Yes I have learned to never resign in my low elo. The funny thing was that just a few games after this one, I got a draw by stalemate to my advantage too :-)
What I don't get is this:
1. You get a game result of "draw by stalemate".
2. You don't know what happened and what "stalemate" is.
3. You don't just google "stalemate" (which would give you the right result as the number one hit), but instead you write a long forum post that costs a hundred times more time and energy.
What I don't get is this:
1. You get a game result of "draw by stalemate".
2. You don't know what happened and what "stalemate" is.
3. You don't just google "stalemate" (which would give you the right result as the number one hit), but instead you write a long forum post that costs a hundred times more time and energy.
I believe you do get number 1 & 2 but perhaps not number 3 which is the only one that makes sense of your statements.
To answer number 3. I did google but did not understand it, hence I asked the question in the forum. I then got an answer which I understood and thanked for it and that's it.
I don't mind the energy that it cost of my long forum post(4 sentences...).
But I am glad you took the time to waste your precious energy in posting here instead of just letting the thread die since I have got my answer already :-)
Hi,
I'm a rookie to chess and just "lost" to a draw by stalemate, why did this happen? Were I too much in the lead to collect a queen and should have been able to win without it?

Did not know this could happen. Thought I'd do it and get him in check mate and just end the game faster. Is it a unwritten d*ick move to collect a queen with this advantage?