History
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The Oxford Encyclopedia of Chess Games, Volume 1 (1485-1866) includes all recorded games played up to 1800 (Levy & O'Connell 1981:ix). The earliest example of perpetual check contained in it is a game played by two unknown players in 1750: N.N. versus Unknown, 1750 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 (the rules of castling not yet having been standardized in their current form, White moved his king to h1 and his rook to f1) Nf6 5.Nc3 Ng4 6.d3 0-0 (Black moved his king to h8 and his rook to f8) 7.Ng5 d6 8.h3 h6 9.Nxf7+ Rxf7 10.Bxf7 Qh4 11.Qf3 Nxf2+ 12.Rxf2 Bxf2 13.Nd5 Nd4 14.Ne7 Nxf3 15.Ng6+ Kh7 ½-½ in light of 16.Nf8+ Kh8 17.Ng6+ etc. (Levy & O'Connell 1981:9) The next examples of perpetual check in the book are two games, both ending in perpetual check, played in 1788 between Bowdler and Philidor, with Philidor giving odds of pawn and move (Levy & O'Connell 1981:12).
A draw by perpetual check used to be in the rules of chess (Reinfeld 1954:175), (Reinfeld 1958:41–43). Howard Staunton gave it as one of six ways to draw a game in The Chess-Player's Handbook (Staunton 1847:21). It has since been removed because perpetual check will eventually allow a draw claim by either threefold repetition or the fifty-move rule. If a player demonstrates intent to perform perpetual check, the players usually agree to a draw (Hooper & Whyld 1992).
Read more about this topic: Perpetual Check
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