Fifty-move rule

The fifty-move rule prevents a game from continuing indefinitely when neither of the two actions that reset the count occurs: a pawn move or a capture. Once the required sequence is complete, the player whose turn it is may claim a draw.

The 50 moves are counted for each player. That means 50 actions by White and 50 by Black, or 100 individual turns in total. Check, a direct attack on the king, does not reset the count by itself. Neither does a move by any non-pawn piece when no capture occurs.

How an over-the-board tournament claim works

In a tournament governed by the International Chess Federation, the rule is not automatic when the count reaches 50. The player who has the turn must claim it. A claim can be made after the sequence is already complete, or before making the move that would complete it by recording that intended move on the scoresheet, the paper or electronic record of the game, and notifying the arbiter, the official who applies the rules. If nobody claims, play may continue; the seventy-five-move rule later provides an automatic limit.