Stipulation

A chess composition is a position created by an author to pose a task. A stipulation is the instruction attached to that position, stating what must be achieved and under which conditions. For example, “mate in two” requires White to force checkmate, a position in which the Black king is attacked and has no legal reply, within the stated number of moves.

It acts as a contract between the composer and the solver. The position supplies the pieces and their relationships; the stipulation determines what counts as a solution. Without it, the same diagram could support entirely different tasks.

What a stipulation may specify

• The goal, such as winning, drawing, giving checkmate, or producing stalemate, which means leaving the opponent with no legal move while the king is not attacked.
• Which side moves first and whether the sides compete, cooperate, or face a compulsory rule.
• The exact or maximum number of moves.
• Special rules, unorthodox pieces, the number of solutions, or changes to the initial position.

The stipulation does not necessarily describe the artistic idea. A mate-in-two problem may use its task to display interference, changed mates, or another theme. A stipulation can also define a very different form of play. In a seriesmover, for instance, one side makes several consecutive moves while the other side remains still.

A composition's soundness is judged against this exact instruction. A clever line that fails to satisfy the stipulation is not a solution.