stalemate n.

in chess, "a condition of checkmate, the state of the king when he is in check and cannot move out of it," c. 1300, mat, from Old French mat, from mater "to checkmate" (see mate (v.2)).

Fool's mate, a mode of checkmate in which the tyro, moving first, is mated by his opponent's second move.—Scholar's mate, a simple mode of checkmate, sometimes practised on inexperienced players, in which the skilled player's queen, supported by a bishop, mates the tyro in four moves. [Century Dictionary]

"pretense or evasive story to avoid doing something," 1812, from earlier sense "thief's assistant" (1590s, also staller), from a variant of stale "bird used as a decoy to lure other birds" (mid-15c.), from Anglo-French estale "decoy, pigeon used to lure a hawk" (13c., compare stool pigeon), literally "standstill," from Old French estal "place, stand, stall," from Frankish *stal- "position," ultimately from Germanic and cognate with Old English steall (see stall (n.1)). Compare Old English stælhran "decoy reindeer," German stellvogel "decoy bird." Figurative sense of "deception, means of allurement" is first recorded 1520s. Also see stall (v.2).

The stallers up are gratified with such part of the gains acquired as the liberality of the knuckling gentlemen may prompt them to bestow. [J.H. Vaux, "Flash Dictionary," 1812]