Don't know why, in this site, where a great number of chess fans like me gather, the majority of players decide to resign a game when the going starts to go tough...!!!  Ok, Grand Masters hardly ever finish a game till there's a checkmate but 99.9% of us are no GM!  C'mon people!: play your games till the very end even when overpowered, learn from your opponent, learn endgame tactics, review games if you have time...  But please: try & NOT resign before time!!!

When it is over u have to resign that is the game. Why play a game that u are not going to win or even have a chance at? 

I'm a bit of a resigner. Not because I've thrown my teddy in the corner when I'm losing, just cos, like :)

Na, I'll try and mix it up for a few moves but if there's nothing, there's nothing.

Agree with you.

i resign when i have no chance of winning, because it is disrespectful to your opponent and a waste of everyones time to continue playing when the game's outcome has been decided.

I have played a few games where I have been well ahead, and my opponent has said they will play until they get mated, I have slipped and they have ended up stealing a draw or winning because of a late game blunder.
These these occur very rarely. Although it is difficult to continue when the board looks woeful, try giving it a chance every now and then, especially in a game you can learn from or where there just might be a way out of the maze.

ok, Mygame5377, like lithium11 wisely put it, there can be late blunders & the upper hand can change sides!  It is NOT a waste of time Thaddeusk! This game doesn't end until the king is dead (THAT'S how the game is!!!) so it can never be disrespectful to anybody!!!  & Maradonna: as long as you have a pawn, even if your opponent has more pieces, there is always a chance!

I've only been around for a few months, but this topic sure seems to come up a lot. 

I believe for players under say 1500 (chess.com) where there are still a fair # of blunders and knowledge of the 3 phases of the game is anything but comprehensive, it is best to go ahead and play it out, for both sides. 

I always play till the end. You learn more that way. Plus its fun when you pull off a stalemate and usually theres always some form of counterplay available. Ive pulled off draws when down and ive come back 5, 6, 7, 8 points down to win the game. Never give up never say die.

Often when people are ahead, they take the game for granted. They let go of the struggle. Theres always a chance you can come back.

Agree 100% with you FLoReA!  As careful a player as I am, in a recent game -that I'm still playing!- I was two pieces ahead of my opponent & started to fool around to the point that I almost got behind...  I should've won that game a few moves ago!!!

yes, even when the game looks hopeless you still have a chance but what is the point of continuing from such a position, at best your opponent will make a blunder and you will win, however this has in no way improved your game and has simply wasted both your and your opponents time. So why would you prolong a game from which you gain nothing (In fact your energy would be put to better use by resigning learning where you went wrong and starting new game).

dkulikov wrote:

yes, even when the game looks hopeless you still have a chance but what is the point of continuing from such a position, at best your opponent will make a blunder and you will win, however this has in no way improved your game and has simply wasted both your and your opponents time. So why would you prolong a game from which you gain nothing (In fact your energy would be put to better use by resigning learning where you went wrong and starting new game).

If you do not want to get ahead in the game because of your opponents blunders , then you probably should not be playing chess. You do start out even and its always an opponents "blunder" ( some subtle, some downright abysmal) that gives you an edge.

samsom wrote:

dkulikov wrote:

yes, even when the game looks hopeless you still have a chance but what is the point of continuing from such a position, at best your opponent will make a blunder and you will win, however this has in no way improved your game and has simply wasted both your and your opponents time. So why would you prolong a game from which you gain nothing (In fact your energy would be put to better use by resigning learning where you went wrong and starting new game).

If you do not want to get ahead in the game because of your opponents blunders , then you probably should not be playing chess. You do start out even and its always an opponents "blunder" ( some subtle, some downright abysmal) that gives you an edge.

Yes, taking advantage of blunders is an important aspect to chess, but playing a lost position and hoping to win on a blunder just seems like a waste. That does not improve your play but stunts it. So knowing how to take advantage of a blunder is very different from playing a lost position and praying for one.

I was recently playing against a friend, and we were playing out the game that I was about to lose.  Other than Kings, it was 1 Pawn vs 7 Pawns + 1 Rook + 1 Knight.  Very obvious who was going to win.  It was only a few moves away from checkmate, but it ended in a stalemate draw.

vagamundo wrote:

as long as you have a pawn, even if your opponent has more pieces, there is always a chance!

Except for certain very specific situations, "there is always a chance" only if your opponent is an idiot.

I like to resign when I'm winning. Seriously.

I hope you offer a draw when you're losing - for consistency's sake.

Nope, I resign then too.

tworthington wrote:

Resigning is a personal choice, there is no right or wrong.  If your opponent wants you to resign because they are in a hurry to move on let them resign.  If your opponent thinks your situation is hopeless and you are wasting their time, they should checkmate you.  If they are unable to checkmate you maybe they are not all that good.

Well said.

I sometimes play on when it's fairly hopeless, and sometimes I resign very early -- like move 10 if I've bungled the opening and dropped a piece. It depends entirely on the particular circumstances. With friends who like to chat, I play on because I'm enjoying the conversation. When I have too many games going, it does not make sense to spend a lot of time trying to scrape a draw out of a bungled position when I can concentrate on other games.

Part of the secret to living with other humans is developing the ability to accept behavior that does not mirror identically what you would do in that situation.

I would prefer not to play with someone who will flip out if I either resign early or fail to resign in a lost position. I don't know what I might end up doing, so I'd prefer to play with people who have some flexibility. It's nice when my oppoent can be open minded about my good faith; whatever I'm doing, it won't be to irritate him or her.