I'm willing to bet that I'm spending over 50% of my time on live chess playing out positions that are already clearly won. All those pathetic griefers who play on in positions where they're down a full rook without any compensation are sickening me to no end. Some players on this site are extremely immature and can't acknowledge their loss, so they will just waste your time by pointlessly dragging out the game. It's become impossible for me to play a game with longer (15m+) time controls because if I have a won position after a few minutes, chances are that my opponent will still use all his remaining time and let me sit there frustrated. If any of these people behaved the same way in a club, no one would want to play against them, but they can just get away with it on the internet. The fun I have on this site playing interesting chess is just ruined by the boredom from having to wait endlessly every time I've won a game.

If I kindly ask my opponent to resign so we can play another game and save time, 90% won't respond at all (sometimes because they don't even understand English) and 10% will say 'just play'. The lack of any normal communicative reason in these people is appalling.

Chess.com, could you please do something against this rude behaviour? Just make it clear to players that they're expected to resign in hopeless positions and make it possible to report anyone who doesn't. If you investigate the reports and find that someone will, out of grief, never resign, warn them or take measures.

The problem here is that the etiquette card is usually played. That is to say inviting your opponent to resign is considered rude. Playing on to the end is considered the 'correct' thing to do. Some others suggest your opponent lives in hope of you making a huge blunder or  not see a potential stale mate coming. Others still put foreward the idea that you might be gracious enough to complete the game (and his or her defeat) by way of their education. The list goes on...I myself agree with you but I am not sure what percentage of players are like minded.

Regards ekorbdal (Adam)

How long does it take you to win a Rook ahead?

I doubt there are that many players who just let their time run out in lost positions, although those who do are rude and annoying jerks.

There's no reasonable way to judge the motives of someone playing out a position to mate - it's possibly to annoy you, but more likely it's simply because they are aware that nobody has yet managed to win or even draw a game by resigning, wheras chess is full of examples of people winning or drawing seemingly hopeless positions by NOT resigning (to wit: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1089372&kpage=1).

My take (and, quite frankly, that of the great majority of OTB players) is simple: refusing to resign may or may not be rude, but asking your opponent to resign is MUCH ruder.  If you can't abide the arduous task of winning a trivially won position, play a faster time control.  End of story.

Asking someone to resign IMO is much more rude than playing out the lost position.

Be prepared to spend the maximum amount of time entailed for a game just sitting and waiting.

What do you expect?

It's all internet yahoos here and everywhere.

Especially on a site that is dominated by very inexperienced players. And kids. And the poor sports who are always so bravo behind their internet masks.

If you want to control your destinty the best you can do is play people you know and block those who don't end games the way you like.

We are all here to learn, if you do not remeber when you wanted to learn, so sad, too bad. If you do not have the patience to "educate" others, do not expect anyone to help and educate you. Do onto others.....

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The educational value of being checkmated or denuded of all your pieces is grossly overstated.

You can do that all day versus your computer, if that's what one finds so valuable.

In fact, getting some advice after the game from a stronger player-like don't trade off your outpost pieces so quickly or don't push your pawns so recklessly in front of your castled position or you didn't develop before you attacked and so forth are actually useful.

Yet another good reason to pay the conventional respect to opponents by resigning promptly. If you alienate them you'll get much less of the kind of advice you sorely need.

Play out these so-called educational positions versus your computer if you really think they contain valuable lessons. Your computer won't care.

Live chess is for fools--so stop whining

If chess.com's HELP & SUPPORT website were to contain a link to the conventional guidance on resigning (e.g.

 "It is generally considered proper chess etiquette to resign clearly lost positions. The proper time to resign should vary with one’s chess ability. Most beginners should probably play on until they are checkmated. But more advanced players should resign clearly lost positions when they are certain that if they were on the other side of the position, they could beat even a master." [link for the above is: http://www.ksca.us/FAQ/Quick_Guide.pdf")  referenced in article    http://www.chess.com/article/view/attitudes-towards-resigning],

where would that leave all of these fascinating resignation discussions?

This is why i dont play anything longer than 3 minutes, and mostly unrated at that.

I don't find this to be a problem. Generally, higher rated players, maybe 1600+, will resign in lost positions. If not, there are multiple ways that this can be made not to be a problem. You can start another game, open up a window on the side to practice tactics, take a break to grab a snack, etc. I generally have the television on so this isn't a problem at all for me.

@ salaskan: Niet zeuren. Anders koop je maar een computer of wordt lid van een schaakclub. Meerdere malen pat uit het vuur gehaald in een verloren stelling tegen zeurpieten zoals jij.

Stop whining. Buy a chess computer or join a chess club. Many games resulted in a draw playing against people like Salaskan who where eager to win but oversaw a draw.

First is in Dutch.

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This.

I understand your pain, but there is NOTHING chess.com or anyone else can really do to hugely improve that situation; just read a book or something...

therefore, 15mins is way too long for me, so, like that guy above me somewhere, i play at the most 3:0, and mostly unrated too (well thats just me, u can make it rated if u want).

Playing unrated allows u to resign. =).

Ok they could add something like, if in a 10m game +, your opp has sat for 6 mins, he auto resigns (could lead to a few probs...), and in a 15m+ if opp sat for 8 mins, auto resign etc.

20min, 12min sit = resign. etc u get the picture. or warning? Because surely if they are THERE, they would see the warning.

but of course that is improper and would affect the player's chess seeing those warnings, or getting autoresigned if he genuinely was thinking.

ok 4get it. -.-

If your opponent is that much worse than you then it shouldn't take very long to checkmate them. Perhaps they need to see how it's done.  If they are being a jerk about losing just don't play them again.

I wonder if those who complain resign as readily as they wish their opponents would?

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You're forgetting Dr. Tarrasch's maxim: "No one won a game by resigning".