I’ve seen games where players each have several pawns that are locked up, and each player has a bishop of opposite color from opponent’s bishop. Any misstep will cost the game, so both play carefully, not wanting to make that mistake.
What’s the right decision here? Agree to a draw? What if one player has more time, and decides to decline the draw offer, and starts to make pointless moves as fast as possible to run the clock out, and win?
It’s not technically a drawn position because both have pawns on the board. But neither is making progress toward winning. One player sees a chance to steal a win because he has more time, and can run the clock out.
FIDE World Chess Federation has this to say in the handbook at the end in the appendices:
(G.6 seems relevant)
| Appendix G. Quickplay Finishes | |
| G.1 |
A ‘quickplay finish’ is the phase of a game when all the remaining moves must be completed in a finite time. |
| G.2 | Before the start of an event it shall be announced whether this Appendix shall apply or not. |
| G.3. | This Appendix shall only apply to standard play and rapidplay games without increment and not to blitz games. |
| G.4 | If the player having the move has less than two minutes left on his clock, he may request that a time delay or cumulative time of an extra five seconds be introduced for both players, if possible. This constitutes the offer of a draw. If refused, and the arbiter agrees to the request, the clocks shall then be set with the extra time; the opponent shall be awarded two extra minutes and the game shall continue. |
| G.5 | If Article G.4 does not apply and the player having the move has less than two minutes left on his clock, he may claim a draw before his flag falls. He shall summon the arbiter and may stop the chessclock (see Article 6.12 b). He may claim on the basis that his opponent cannot win by normal means, and/or that his opponent has been making no effort to win by normal means
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| G.6 | The following shall apply when the competition is not supervised by an arbiter:
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Yes, this rule does exist in OTB. If a player runs out of time and the other cannot force checkmate, the game is a draw.