From: Hans Geuns <geuns <at> FAS <dot> HARVARD <dot> EDU>
Date: 12 apr 2000
Subject: Re: Checkmate

On Wed, 12 Apr 2000, Nick Bardsley wrote:

[...]

> Any rule that only allows illegal moves would be bizarre in the extreme.

It's the player who has maneuvered himself into a position were he has no
more legal moves: you cannot blame that on the rules :)
Also, if you have just been checkmated, you would, I hope, agree that you
don't have any legal moves anymore. But would you then say that the rules
defining checkmate are "bizarre in the extreme"?

> Better would be if the person giving stalemate loses on the ground that he
> is forcing his opponent to make illegal moves.

I think that that's just a matter of personal taste (or of game history).

Hans