Draw Offer

Draw offer is a procedural term of the codified Laws rather than a word with independent chess etymology, the chess sense of draw being the drawn or undecided result. The procedure was not always necessary: drawn games were once simply replayed, as at London in 1883, and Paris 1867 ignored draws entirely, while Dundee in 1867 introduced the half point and Monte Carlo experimented with fractional scoring in 1901 and 1902. The current FIDE Laws set out a strict sequence at Article 9.1.2.1: a player wishing to offer a draw shall do so after having made a move on the chessboard and before pressing his clock, and an offer at any other time during play is still valid, but Article 11.5 on distracting the opponent is then to be considered. The Laws add that no conditions can be attached to the offer and that in both cases the offer cannot be withdrawn and remains valid until the opponent accepts it, rejects it verbally, rejects it by touching a piece with the intention of moving or capturing it, or the game is concluded in some other way. Article 9.1.2.2 requires both players to record the offer on their scoresheets with the symbol (=), and 9.1.2.3 provides that a claim under Article 9.2 or 9.3 shall be considered a draw offer.

First documented: n.a. — n.a. for the phrase; current procedure is Article 9.1.2 of the FIDE Laws of Chess in force from 1 January 2023