I cannot understand why a draw would ever be offered and accepted if it was not clear that a draw could be forced. can someone enlighten me?

In some tournaments, a draw is enough to win, so even if you have an advantage, you'd take the sure win.

If you have a lost position, but your opponent is afraid of you, you could swindle half a point.

To conserve energy in a drawn position where playing on would be fruitless.

1. Draw is enough to wrap up first place in the tournament or section. Or it may be enough to guarantee prize money. Or it may be enough to guarantee a norm.

2. Fatigue. This is hard for non-chess players to accept, but playing chess can be very fatiguing. Especially in the US where we often play 5 long games in 2 days. If you know you're not playing very sharply and are tired, taking a draw might be the best or most reasonable outcome you can hope for. Same for being sick, sleepy, etc.

3. Playing a higher rated player. Sometimes the lower rated player will have a preferable position. He may not have the confidence in his own skill or that the advantage is large enough to win. I've seen draws offered in this situation.

4. Some positions may be so dry and prospect-less that although it's not a forced 3-fold/stalemate/insuff mating material, there's no real reason to play on.

Below international level, the reason is that people are scared of losing. When I return to tournament chess (I am 2100 FIDE, 2100 USCF, haven't played in half a year) my biggest goal is to fight every game; I see no reason for a draw by agreement to be considered a legitimate result of a chess game.

Edit: For nonprofessionals, that is.

Also some games that are clearly drawn between very strong players may look [and be] completely playable to weaker players.

Heh, this thread reminded me of something. When I was like 9 or 10 years old, I saw these two IM's agreeing to a draw in an opposite color bishop endgame were they both had like 5 or 6 pawns each. I couldn't figure out why on earth would they do that, it seemed to me that you can play that position forever.. And so a couple months later I was playing a game in U-10 championship of my country. We arrive at a very very similar opposite color bishop endgame with tons of pawns. My opponent, who was considered a stronger player than me, offered me a draw immediately. As I was kind of a "revolutionary guy" at that point, not agreeing to anything I see and stuff, I had this idea in mind that I should prove that those masters were incorrect to agree to a draw and that it is possible to win this position. Soo.. We played for like one and a half hours more (longest game of that tourney!), just pretty much pushing those bishops around.. But I felt I can make him falter! And as a matter of fact he did. I am not sure how, but he managed to blunder his two pawns on the queenside, so we ended up with such pawn structures. White: h2, g3, f4, e5, a3, b4. Black: h3, g4, f5, e6. Kings were standing in an opposition in the center and bishops were roaming around. I realized, that I will need my king in order to promote my pawns, because his light square bishop was blocking it.. After I moved my king, he went with his king all the way to g2, took my h2 pawn, and promoted. I lost a game and a championship..

You live and you learn!

thanks guys. all the answers helped a lot. i can definitely understand being fatigued from playing chess.

I once offered a 1500 player a draw in a complicated but dead lost position and he accepted. I then proceeded to berate him for accepting and showed him how hopeless my position was. I felt stupid afterward because what I did was tactless. I didn't realize it at the time but now I realize that what I did was in poor taste.

lol confession

lol yeah