Threefold repetition

In chess and some other abstract strategy games, the threefold repetition rule (also known as repetition of position) states that a player can claim a draw if the same position occurs three times, or will occur after their next move, with the same player to move. The repeated positions do not need to 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. In chess and some other abstract strategy games, the threefold repetition rule (also known as repetition of position) states that a player can claim a draw if the same position occurs three times, or will occur after their next move, with the same player to move. The repeated positions do not need to 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. In chess, in order for a position to be considered the same, each player must have the same set of legal moves each time, including the possible rights to castle and capture en passant. Positions are considered the same if the same type of piece is on a given square. For example, if a player has two knights and the knights are on the same squares, it does not matter if the positions of the two knights have been exchanged. 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. In xiangqi and shogi, a fourfold repetition (千日手 sennichite) is required to end in a draw. Each player must have the same pieces in hand as well as the same position on the board. The result is a draw. In shogi, a fourfold repetition with perpetual checks is illegal, however, and results not in a draw but in a loss by the checking player. This is consistent with the fact that the word for the number 4 in the Chinese and Japanese languages is a homonym for 'death'.