Draw offer

A draw offer is a proposal to end the game without a winner. The opponent may accept or reject it. Play and the chess clock, which separately measures each player’s remaining time, continue until acceptance, so making an offer does not pause the turn or require a spoken reply.

In a game played in person on a physical board under the official rules, the proper time is after making a move on the board and before pressing the clock. The offer cannot carry conditions, cannot be withdrawn, and remains valid until the opponent accepts it, rejects it verbally, touches a piece intending to move or capture, or the game ends another way.

Acceptance produces an agreed draw. Under the laws of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), that agreement ends the game only after both players have made at least one move. On a scoresheet, the paper or electronic record of the moves, the offer is marked with (=). Online, the player uses the platform’s designated button or command.

An offer is different from a rules claim. A threefold repetition claim, for example, asks the arbiter, the official who applies tournament rules, to verify an objective condition; the opponent's consent is not required if the claim is correct. Some events restrict when players may offer or agree to a draw.