Draw in game, some initially report, before tea (9)
I believe the answer is:
stalemate
'draw in game' is the definition.
(a draw in chess)
'some initially report before tea' is the wordplay.
'initially' indicates taking the first letters.
'report before' becomes 'tale' (tale is a kind of report. I am not sure about the 'before' bit.).
'tea' becomes 'mate' (South American hot drink).
The initial letter of 'some' is 's'.
's'+'tale'+'mate'='STALEMATE'
(Other definitions for stalemate that I've seen before include "Unresolvable position" , "Deadlock, impasse" , "Possible chess game ending" , "Inglorious deadlock" , "a position on board" .)