Dead Position
A dead position is defined as a position where neither player can checkmate their opponent's king by any sequence of legal moves.
- Any positions with only the following pieces are dead positions,
and are known as draws by insufficient material:
- king against king
- king against king and bishop
- king against king and knight
- king and bishop against king and bishop, with both bishops on squares of the same color (see King and two bishops).
- However, insufficient material is not the only condition for a dead position.
There are positions in which checkmate is impossible but the pieces on the board
would be sufficient to mate if arranged otherwise.
This usually occurs in blocked king and pawn endings where it is impossible
for either king to capture the pawns. See the diagram below.
