Is it courteous to resign in a lost position?

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AnittaDrink

This week's chess referendum is a chess etiquette question: Is it courteous to resign in a lost position? Should you do it, or are you team #NeverResign? Vote by reacting to the post and let us know your thoughts down below!

resign Yes it is, you should resign.

playhand Nah, keep on playing! Never resign!

HenryUrbanek

You should resign unless you have some stalemate chance, but otherwise definitely resign

HenryUrbanek

but I would say until about 1500 you should never really have to resign

HenryUrbanek

@ehm42 you resign in lost positions right?

ChessKy538

Personally, I think it's good sportsmanship to resign in a position where you're at a complete disadvantage.

classical_beast_108
ehm42 wrote:

Yeah, i once kept playing because my king was in the corner and I thought i could get a stalemate trick. And I sacced my knight and then my rook to stalemate ( not realizing I had a legal move after his bishop took which was for me to take back with my pawn and so my stalemate trap failed, but somehow, he (a 1400) stalemated me anyways lol

bro move 49 instead of Re4+, Rf3+ sacrificing the roof the other way forces a stalemate on the spot

HenryUrbanek

@classical_beast_108, first of all, you probably wouldn't have found that if YOU were playing the game live, and second of all, even after that, there is only one correct move for it to remain stalemate.

Miss-Tical

my opponent hasn't resign https://www.chess.com/game/live/85855909667

whenever you feel a slightly chance.....time, blunders, active pieces.....don't resign, at least you learn something

Iris_for_the_Pin

It depends. Just because you are at a disadvantage isn't a reason to resign. Fight on! Your opponent may make a mistake.

If you are totally out of material and nowhere near a stalemate or a pawn promotion, yes, give your opponent the game. This is especially true in an Arena, when both of you are trying to play as many games as possible in the allotted time. Wasting someone's time in an Arena is not sporting.

pompili0

If you have no hope at all then you should absolutely resign. If you still have chances, no matter how small, keep playing. My opponents (about 2000) still blunder way more than you might think.

ProkopMatveev
ProkopMatveev

I didn’t resign and had a draw

NBA-YoungBoy23

why should u waste ur time playing a game ur gonna lose anyway

HenryUrbanek

exactly. just resign. at sub 1000 never resign, but its a waste of time, and I don't think you "learn" by walking around with your king while your opponent bullies you with queens and rooks

Sleadss

as someone who's 2300 I don't think there is any problem with not resigning . swindles sometimes do happen . that being said if it's an important arena and you're down a queen (or lost) you should absolutely resign to give your opponent some chances of winning the tournament 

MGleason

Here's a game where a stronger player blundered away what should have been a win, after telling me to resign: https://www.chess.com/game/live/3061667832

Sure, if you have absolutely no counterplay, go ahead and resign. But don't resign too early. I see people resign after blundering a piece in the opening - that's way too soon. In fact, in some of those cases they missed a tactic that would let them recover the piece and keep material even.

achess222

never resign in otb could resign in chess.com

thenomalnoob

If your opp has low elo, you have chance to stalemate yourself; otherwise you should resign to preserve your honor.

Lluc7

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You use the resigning "technique" depending on the following factors:
1 - Importance of the game:
If you are playing an important tournament (the world cup, for example happy.png) you shouldn't resign until there is an absolutely clear advantage, this way you can demonstrate that you are a worthyfull player by making the best moves.
If you are playing a non-important game, the ELO should be what matters: it is all in probability, here comes my second factor. 
2 - Probability:
Sometimes, specially when playing under 800 players, they don't appreciate the M3 opportunity and instead, blunder their queen. Of course, in my case, 1200, if I'm in a M3 situation, I resign. But I resign to avoid the pleasure of my opponent of delivering mate. 

I hope this helped!!!
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HenryUrbanek

always resign