Tie given by tasteless spouse (9)
I believe the answer is:
stalemate
'tie' is the definition.
(tie in chess)
'by tasteless spouse' is the wordplay.
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'tasteless' becomes 'stale' (I've seen this in another clue).
'spouse' becomes 'mate' (synonyms).
'stale'+'mate' is 'STALEMATE'.
'given' is the link.
(Other definitions for stalemate that I've seen before include "Inglorious deadlock" , "Inconclusive result" , "A no-win situation in chess" , "situation without a winner" , "An enforced draw in chess" .)