were stalemating

• past progressive

  past progressive

  Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.

  of stalemate.
  stalemate

  noun

  a position of the pieces in which a player cannot move any piece except the king and cannot move the king without putting it in check.

Related Words

• delay
• gridlock
• impasse
• standoff
• standstill