unbelieveable

This is the helpmate that shows why this isn't a draw

The FIDE rule is reasonable here (albeit, strictly speaking, it is really hard to implement correctly, as there is no easy algorithm to check if the cooperative checkmate is possible in a given position). Just because "come on, this is only a minor piece - it is easy to escape checkmate in most such positions" it is not cool to declare the game a draw, as there are a lot of other positions where escaping is equally easy. Also this leads to embarassing cases like Jesus de la Villa described:

> Spanish IM Sergio Estremera told me that he had this position [the checkmating knight vs rook pawn endgame] in one blitz game on ICC, but then the opponent just left his flag to fall; those familiar with ICC blitz rules know the result of the game.

As per FIDE rules, when one player runs out of time and the opponent has sufficient material to checkmate or a checkmate position is possible with any series of legal moves, then the game is declared a loss for the player who ran out of time. In the above case Black can checkmate White through a series of legal moves (helpmate). If it is Black who ran out of time then it's a win for White as the Bishop can create a legal checkmate position against a Knight. Following the above rule, opposite color Bishops is also a win for both sides! Thanks to Lichess for following the OTB FIDE Rules.

the chess.com rules seem to be more realistic. We have tons of people complaining about this.

Being realistic is realizing that checkmate is possible. Easily a position may exist whereby a player is up material, but is facing a lone Knight. The side with a knight sacrificed material to reach a winning position, the opponent realizes such, and let's his flag fall to claim a draw ??? Hardly realistic. CC and USCF have gotten many things wrong over the years. One day they'll step out of the dark ages.

The ones complaining are players who lost. Know the rules before starting a game. Fast chess is as much about the clock as making good moves and checkmating. If your flag falls, in a game where the opponet is still able to win... Game Over. You lose.
On the other hand, a great percentage of players won't flag opponents and take the obvious draw, but if they so choose to be greedy and win points... you signed up for it. Stop complaining.

i guess one out of 1000 cases wins for the knight, the other 999 cases are lost or drawn. That is why i think it is more realistic to declare it draw.

Since when does making an assumption that a player will find the correct moves determine a result?

Rule # 1. Make no assumptions. Once you go down this road, it opens up a whole can of beans. Pretty soon, rules will need making to cover all exceptions.

I remember when I started here playing there were not few postings the other way round. The rule was similar to „US“ until say a year ago.

As @Wolfram_EP #12 noted, it is not possible to always correctly detect if mate is possible, so we should look in this simple case, one player has just knight or bishop, what would be the result in the overwhelming majority of cases. And that would be draw or loss for the knight/bishop party.

We could say, if the opp has even less material than knight/bishop, then its a win. This would resolve the mentioned knight versus rook pawn case.

But letting a knight win against for example three rooks and a pawn, thats bizarre.

What would you say to the player who sacrificed a Queen and Rook to reach a winning position; next move is a smothered mate by a lone Knight which can not be prevented?

The opponent lets the clock expire and makes a claim for a draw. He has overwhelming material. The other side only a Knight.

Sure the chances are highly unlikely, but such instances do happen/ are possible to happen. How can a draw be awarded in a position that is lost by force???

Just because the chances are very slim, do you really want to alter the rules of chess to accommodate an assumption an opponent will not blunder?

This all has to do with blitz chess. Rules are different. Blitz chess is as much about the clock as anything. It is a TIME game. Lose on time, opponent can checkmate, game over.

Clearly, in OTB classical chess, rules are in place to declare the game a draw, but were talking bullet/speed chess here. Especially the OP's example, a game of bullet ! Since when is bullet between low rated players concerned about material ? It's all about the clock. He who moves the fastest and is not mated wins.