In chess, a draw is one of the possible outcomes of a game, the others being a win for White (loss for Black) and a win for Black (loss for White). Traditionally, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.

For the most part, a draw occurs when it appears that neither side will win. Draws are codified by various rules including stalemate (when the player to move has no legal move and is not in check), threefold repetition (when the same position occurs three times), and the fifty-move rule (when the last fifty successive moves made by both players contain no capture or pawn move). A draw also occurs when neither player has sufficient material to checkmate the opponent or when no sequence of legal moves can lead to checkmate.

Unless specific tournament rules forbid it, players may agree to a draw at any time. Ethical considerations may make a draw uncustomary in situations where at least one player has a reasonable chance of winning. For example, a draw could be called after a move or two, but this would likely be thought unsporting.

There are 5 ways to draw a game of chess (excluding clock situations):
 
1. Draw by agreement
Both players may feel that the position on the board is equal and therefore agree to a draw. Many Grandmaster games end in a draw in this way.

2. Stalemate
If the King is not in check but it is unable to move to a safe square, we say that the King is stalemated and the game is drawn. Many novices who may be ahead in material mistakenly stalemate the opponent king¡Kbeware!

3. 50-move rule
If both sides have made 50 moves, without making a capture or a pawn move, then either player may claim a draw.

4. Repetition of moves
If the same position occurs three times in a game, then either player may claim a draw (including involving a perpetual check; which is usually used by the weaker side to avoid a loss).

5. Insufficient mating material
When neither side has enough pieces on the board to checkmate the enemy king then the game is drawn. It is impossible to checkmate with:
« K vs K
« K+B vs K
« K+B+wrong Rook Pawn vs King
« K+N vs K
« K+NN vs K
« K+R vs K+N (or B)
« K+R+B vs + K+R (sometimes)

Draws in timed games
In games played with a time control (using a clock), there are other ways a draw can occur:
In a sudden death (The most straightforward time control for a chess game: each player has a fixed amount of time available to make all moves), if it is discovered that both players have exceeded their time allotment, the game is a draw. (The game continues if it is not a sudden-death time control).

If only one player has exceeded the time limit, but the other player does not have (theoretically) sufficient mating material, the game is still a draw. Law 6.10 of the FIDE Laws of Chess states that: "If a player does not complete the prescribed number of moves in the allotted time, the game is lost by the player. However, the game is drawn, if the position is such that the opponent cannot checkmate the player's king by any possible series of legal moves, even with the most unskilled counter play." For example, a player who runs out of time with a king and queen versus a sole king does not lose the game. It is still possible to lose on time in positions where mate is extremely unlikely but not theoretically impossible, as with king and bishop versus king and knight.

Because of this last possibility, article 10 of the FIDE laws of chess states that when a player has less than two minutes left on their clock during a rapid play finish (the end of a game when all remaining moves must be completed within a limited amount of time), they may claim a draw if their opponent is not attempting to win the game by "normal means" or cannot win the game by "normal means". "Normal means" can be taken to mean the delivery of checkmate or the winning of material. In other words, a draw is claimable if the opponent is merely attempting to win on time, or cannot possibly win except by on time. It is up to the arbiter to decide whether such a claim will be granted or not.

Frequency of draws
In chess games played at the top level, a draw is the most common outcome of a game: of around 22,000 games published in The Week in Chess played between 1999 and 2002 by players with a FIDE Elo rating of 2500 or above, 55 percent were draws. Roughly 36 percent of games between top computer chess programs are draws (more than are won by White or won by Black).