In chess, the threefold repetition rule states that a player may claim a draw if the same position occurs three times during the game. The rule is also known as repetition of position and, in the USCF rules, as triple occurrence of position.[1] Two positions are by definition "the same" if the same types of pieces occupy the same squares, the same player has the move, the remaining castling rights are the same and the possibility to capture en passant is the same. The repeated positions need not occur in succession. The reasoning behind the rule is that if the position occurs three times, no real progress is being made and the game could hypothetically continue indefinitely.
The game is not automatically drawn if a position occurs for the third time – one of the players, on their turn, must claim the draw with the arbiter. The claim must be made either before making the move which will produce the third repetition, or after the opponent has made a move producing a third repetition. By contrast, the fivefold repetition rule requires the arbiter to intervene and declare the game drawn if the same position occurs five times, needing no claim by the players.
Similar rules exist in other abstract strategy games such as xiangqi and shogi (cf. sennichite) whereas in Go, repetition of the immediately previous board position is completely disallowed in the first place, and in some regional rule sets repetition of any previous board position is disallowed.
Internet chess servers differ in their handling of draw by repetition. For example, Lichess and Chess.com both draw the game automatically upon a position's third occurrence.
This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
^Article 14K.2 in "US CHESS FEDERATION'S OFFICIAL RULES OF CHESS 7TH EDITION" (PDF). The United States Chess Federation. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
and 25 Related for: Threefold repetition information
In chess, the threefoldrepetition rule states that a player may claim a draw if the same position occurs three times during the game. The rule is also...
has changed through the years: The threefoldrepetition rule was added, although at some times up to six repetitions have been required, and the exact...
Black's 40th move. A draw claim before then is only permitted if a threefoldrepetition or stalemate has occurred. Bids were originally to be presented to...
with the game ending in a threefoldrepetition draw claim on move 14, or on move 18 via the automatic draw for fivefold repetition. Among top-rated players...
and threefoldrepetition as ¾–¼ brings it all the way down to 22.6%. (The same reduction of draws would occur if stalemate, bare king, and threefold repetition...
Spassky twice avoided a draw by threefoldrepetition. After 54 moves, Fischer made an incorrect claim of threefoldrepetition, but Spassky agreed to a draw...
however, such a situation will eventually allow a draw claim by either threefoldrepetition or the fifty-move rule. Players usually agree to a draw long before...
winning position against R Praggnanandhaa, but blundered into a threefoldrepetition. In tiebreaks he defeated Anish Giri in semifinals but lost to Wei...
nicknamed the Double Bongcloud. The game was intentionally drawn by threefoldrepetition after the players immediately repeated moves, the particular sequence...
stalemate, by a dead position, by the threefoldrepetition rule, by the fifty-move rule, by the fivefold repetition rule and by the seventy-five-move rule...
draws, for example by forbidding draw offers before move thirty. Threefoldrepetition: This most commonly occurs when neither side is able to avoid repeating...
could not draw by agreement, but they could have draws by stalemate, threefoldrepetition, the fifty-move rule, and insufficient material. Other draws are...
"Ordinary". The Kyrie consists of a threefoldrepetition of "Kyrie eleison" ("Lord, have mercy"), a threefoldrepetition of "Christe eleison" ("Christ have...
Black's 40th move. A draw claim before then was only permitted if a threefoldrepetition or stalemate has occurred. The pre-match head-to-head score between...
Checkmate Draw by agreement Fifty-move rule Perpetual check Stalemate Threefoldrepetition En passant Pawn promotion Time control Fast chess Touch-move rule...
opposite teams run out of time or are checkmated simultaneously. Threefoldrepetition may apply to a single board; however, players should be mindful that...
Kf2 Ra2+ 43.Ke3 Ra3+ 44.Kf2 Ra2+ 45.Ke3 Ra3+ 46.Kf2 ½–½ A draw by threefoldrepetition. 14...Rg8! Black plans Bd6, Ke7, f6, Rgc8, Bg8, etc. White actually...
rook of the same color on the same rank. In the context of threefold and fivefold repetition, two positions with different castling rights are considered...
draw claim before then was permitted only through the arbiter, if a threefoldrepetition or stalemate had occurred. Prior to the match, Nepomniachtchi and...
Checkmate Draw by agreement Fifty-move rule Perpetual check Stalemate Threefoldrepetition En passant Pawn promotion Time control Fast chess Touch-move rule...
Checkmate Draw by agreement Fifty-move rule Perpetual check Stalemate Threefoldrepetition En passant Pawn promotion Time control Fast chess Touch-move rule...
Checkmate Draw by agreement Fifty-move rule Perpetual check Stalemate Threefoldrepetition En passant Pawn promotion Time control Fast chess Touch-move rule...
Checkmate Draw by agreement Fifty-move rule Perpetual check Stalemate Threefoldrepetition En passant Pawn promotion Time control Fast chess Touch-move rule...
Checkmate Draw by agreement Fifty-move rule Perpetual check Stalemate Threefoldrepetition En passant Pawn promotion Time control Fast chess Touch-move rule...
Checkmate Draw by agreement Fifty-move rule Perpetual check Stalemate Threefoldrepetition En passant Pawn promotion Time control Fast chess Touch-move rule...
Global Information