Bare king

A side has a bare king when all of its pawns and other pieces have left the board. The term describes the material remaining in the position; it does not determine the game result by itself.

Losing every piece except the king is not an automatic loss under modern rules. Play continues if some sequence of legal moves could still end in checkmate. If neither side can possibly checkmate through any legal sequence, the position is dead and the game is drawn immediately. A draw may also occur by stalemate, when the player is not in check but has no legal move.

The bare king can still capture undefended enemy pieces, approach useful squares, and seek stalemate. It may never move into attack, however, and its ordinary destinations remain limited to a safe adjacent square.