When to resign? When to offer the draw? These are tough questions. If you don't resign, it can be interpreted as disrespectful. If you decline a draw in a drawn position the same thing applies. I have noticed that most students err on the side of over-resigning. That is to say, they are far more likely to resign too early than to play on too long. When you're first getting into tournament chess, the game seems fairly straightforward: those who have more material should win. But I have learned over the years that nothing in chess is easy if your opponent is epic enough to fight. In playing chess, I have witnessed countless stories of comebacks from people down a piece and even a rook. A friend of mine once beat a master in the finale of a tournament down a knight for absolutely nothing. Nothing.
So, when should you resign? When you don't control your fate anymore. And by that I mean if you had to stand up and Magnus Carlsen sat down where you were, armed with the most powerful chess computer ever created, and still lost over 50% of bouts, you can resign. So, it depends on how simple the position is. In a very simple position, even being down a pawn could be resignable. In complex positions, like the starting one, not even losing a queen is resignable (don't believe me? Download Stockfish, setup the position so that stockfish doesn't have a queen and try beating it). Now we can't all play like Stockfish, but if our fate is in our hands we ought to try.
Strategies for playing on in lost positions: 1. Fortune favors the patient. Don't play forcing variations but rather exert positional pressure and avoid piece trades. Neutralize counterplay so that there's no clear win for an opponent even if they're winning. This will create frustration as they try to force the game's end. Someone losing should play the role of the mosquito, lots of annoying little threats and hard to swat.
2. Consider putting yourself in time pressure or speeding up your play. Don't stop calculating. But if you're down some serious material, the faster your opponent moves the more traps they will fall into. If they're obsessed with clocking you and they can't find a win on the board, they're likely to move aimlessly.
3. Create fortresses where it's hard to see how your opponent can't break through. If down an exchange, try to have your minor piece defend your pawns and vice versa so that your opponent has nothing to attack.
4. Always opt for a confusing position over a simple one unless you can create a fortress. The more going on, the better!
Below represent two recent 5 0 games against a 2080 where I was down a rook for nothing in one and down a queen in the other one. I won both by adhering to the previous strategy. The 5 0 control helped but even in slower time controls, I could have just held the pressure for hours.
When to resign? When to offer the draw? These are tough questions. If you don't resign, it can be interpreted as disrespectful. If you decline a draw in a drawn position the same thing applies. I have noticed that most students err on the side of over-resigning. That is to say, they are far more likely to resign too early than to play on too long. When you're first getting into tournament chess, the game seems fairly straightforward: those who have more material should win. But I have learned over the years that nothing in chess is easy if your opponent is epic enough to fight. In playing chess, I have witnessed countless stories of comebacks from people down a piece and even a rook. A friend of mine once beat a master in the finale of a tournament down a knight for absolutely nothing. Nothing.
So, when should you resign? When you don't control your fate anymore. And by that I mean if you had to stand up and Magnus Carlsen sat down where you were, armed with the most powerful chess computer ever created, and still lost over 50% of bouts, you can resign. So, it depends on how simple the position is. In a very simple position, even being down a pawn could be resignable. In complex positions, like the starting one, not even losing a queen is resignable (don't believe me? Download Stockfish, setup the position so that stockfish doesn't have a queen and try beating it). Now we can't all play like Stockfish, but if our fate is in our hands we ought to try.
Strategies for playing on in lost positions:
1. Fortune favors the patient. Don't play forcing variations but rather exert positional pressure and avoid piece trades. Neutralize counterplay so that there's no clear win for an opponent even if they're winning. This will create frustration as they try to force the game's end. Someone losing should play the role of the mosquito, lots of annoying little threats and hard to swat.
2. Consider putting yourself in time pressure or speeding up your play. Don't stop calculating. But if you're down some serious material, the faster your opponent moves the more traps they will fall into. If they're obsessed with clocking you and they can't find a win on the board, they're likely to move aimlessly.
3. Create fortresses where it's hard to see how your opponent can't break through. If down an exchange, try to have your minor piece defend your pawns and vice versa so that your opponent has nothing to attack.
4. Always opt for a confusing position over a simple one unless you can create a fortress. The more going on, the better!
Below represent two recent 5 0 games against a 2080 where I was down a rook for nothing in one and down a queen in the other one. I won both by adhering to the previous strategy. The 5 0 control helped but even in slower time controls, I could have just held the pressure for hours.
https://www.chess.com/live/game/1786919447
https://www.chess.com/live/game/1786908331