Saturday, 25 May 2013

Quickest Stalemate

I was asked today what is the shortest possible game that ends in Stalemate. The answer has been known for quite a while, with Sam Lloyd finding that 10 moves is all that is needed (Game given below). This solution is not unique btw. The shortest stalemate without captures is 12 moves (also found by Lloyd), while the fastest 'double stalemate' (neither side can move) is 18 moves (found by Enzo Minerva and published in 2007).


Stalemate Study - Sam Lloyd
Study

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. e3 a5 2. Qh5 Ra6 3. Qxa5 h5 4. Qxc7 Rah6 5. h4 f6 6. Qxd7+ Kf7 7. Qxb7 Qd3 8. Qxb8 Qh7 9. Qxc8 Kg6 10. Qe6 1/2-1/2
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Actually Loyd has only one l. :) Don't usually point out spelling mistakes, but it's Sam Loyd.

AO

30 May 2013 at 20:19

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