What is the threefold repetition rule in chess?
I · Intermediate · Winning and drawing · 3 of 7A player may claim a draw when the same position appears on the board for the third time with the same player to move. It need not be three times in a row. The claim is made by the player whose turn it is. If the same position appears five times, the game is drawn without any claim.
How it works
- The same position: the same player has the move, the same kinds of piece of the same colour are on the same squares, and all the possible moves are the same.
- Not necessarily consecutive: the position may recur at any points in the game, "not necessarily by a repetition of moves".
- Rights count: positions differ if an en passant capture was possible in the first, or if castling rights have since been lost.
- Claiming before it appears: the player writes the move that will produce the position on the scoresheet, does not play it and tells the arbiter.
- Claiming after it appears: the player whose turn it is claims straight away.
- Touch a piece and the claim is gone: for that move.
- Wrong claim: the opponent gets two extra minutes and the game goes on.
- Five times: the game is drawn automatically.
The glossary has the repetition and fifty-move rule, the draw, the arbiter, the castling, en passant and the notation.
Tricky cases
The same moves have been played back and forth twice. Is that a draw?
It depends. What counts is the position, not the moves. The player needs the same position to have appeared, or be about to appear, for the third time.
A player makes the move that repeats the position, presses the clock and then claims. Is the claim good?
No. Once the move is completed it is the opponent's turn, and only the player having the move can claim. The player should have written the move down and claimed before playing it.
Is perpetual check a rule?
No. The Laws do not mention it. Endless checks lead to a draw through repetition, the fifty-move rule or agreement.
The position is the same, but earlier the king could still castle and now it cannot. Same position?
No. The possible moves must be the same, and castling rights are part of that.
Why the rule exists
Without it, a player who was losing could shuffle the same moves for ever and the game would never end. The rule turns "nobody can make progress" into a result. Requiring a claim leaves the choice with the players. The five-times rule lets the arbiter end a game the players will not.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Same position three times | Draw if correctly claimed | FIDE Laws 9.2 |
| Same position five times | Draw with no claim needed | FIDE Laws 9.6.1 |
| Incorrect claim | Two minutes added to the opponent's time | FIDE Laws 9.5.3 |
| Rapid and blitz | The added time is one minute | FIDE Laws A.3; B.3 |
From the rule book
FIDE, Laws of Chess (approved 7 August 2022, applied from 1 January 2023), Articles 9.2, 9.4, 9.5, 9.6 and 11.12 and Appendix A.3. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: FIDE Laws of Chess taking effect from 1 January 2023 (FIDE Handbook E.01).