Interesting writeup. I'd like to see you write more.
There's also a thing about games where there's still a lot of material left on the board, that normally people don't know how to play a game where they are up material. So as long as you have the options to not trade off your materials even though you are down, you can still find some life in your position.
The Meaning of 'life' in Chess and How to Win a Lost Position
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If you have consumed even a small amount of chess content, you have likely heard a master give the sage advice: ‘Never resign.’ Paradoxically, said master has almost certainly resigned many games while only down a point of material. Even more confusingly, you may find that other players will get subtly annoyed with you when you follow this advice. What gives?
When deciding whether to play on in a lost position, advice from other players can be misleading. Even an engine may not provide a clear answer. This is because other players are (hopefully) polite and engines are simply looking for the objectively best move. Unfortunately, as I hope will become clear, both motivations muddy the analysis. What you ultimately need to decide is whether there is any life in the position.
To be clear, ‘never resign’ is good advice to beginners. One obvious reason is that they may not have the experience to know when to resign. It is better not to resign when you should than to resign when you shouldn’t. Another reason is that experience playing a losing position can be valuable. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, beginners usually play beginners. Thus, even where the position is objectively hopeless, stalemate is a real possibility. Play on.
A useful analysis when playing a beginner or player significantly lower rated than yourself is whether their advantage can conceivably be overcome due to the skill differential. All things being equal, the lower his rating, the bigger your rating advantage, and the more important the game, the more reason to play on. That is, while he may have a material and positional advantage, you think your skill advantage offsets a significant portion of that advantage. Where your opponent is an intermediate player, badly beating you on the board, and demonstrably more skilled (i.e. higher-rated) she cannot be blamed for being (internally) annoyed that you are wasting her time and your time playing a hopeless position in a meaningless game. Playing on is not a good way to make friends, though most players will be too polite to tell you this directly (just like when you play the exchange French 😉). Play a few more moves and consider resigning.
In any case, the most important question to ask yourself is whether there is any life in the position. If there is, no one can blame you for playing on. While it’s easy to feel ‘down’ or bored when you are losing, if there is life in the position and you have the right attitude and approach, it can still be a lot of fun.
There is very little life in this position for black. He is down positionally and materially and does not have the material to complicate matters.
Remind yourself that losing is a learning experience; take a deep breath, but don’t resign right away. Remember that it feels even more rewarding to come from behind than to win a game with no effort. Most importantly play aggressively! Now that the pressure is off you can experiment with interesting attacks and ideas that you would normally deem a little too speculative. With the right mindset, this is an opportunity for creative, aggressive, and exciting chess.
After your opponent completes a successful attack, their pieces will often be out of place (on the wrong part of the board) or uncoordinated (not attacking together or defending each other). Here, passive and defensive engine moves are unlikely to help because the more maneuvering that happens, the more the winning side can coordinate and bring its material advantage to bear. The engine has a limited move horizon. In a lost position it doesn’t ‘understand’ that you will have to make some risky moves to pressure your opponent into a mistake. Thus, you must think creatively and find spots to play aggressively. Usually, this is easier done soon before your opponent’s pieces coordinate.
What is the meaning of ‘life’?
Long story short, in order to save the position you have to have the resources to take the initiative. There is life in the position where you have some positional or dynamic advantage that you can try to leverage it into an attack. There may be life in the position where you have enough material to burn to open up lines of attack through sacrifices.
In any case, in a losing position, you cannot afford to let your opponent execute their ideas. Unless you are planning to win on the clock, you must play moves that force your opponent to react to your ideas. Like when playing a gambit, this involves developing an attack, usually on the king, and prioritizing dynamic advantages (see articles on static vs dynamic advantages). Since the material balance is already unequal and you will likely lose an endgame, there will be more times when sacrificing more material to fuel your attack is warranted. By the same token, however, you cannot afford to trade down into an endgame for nothing. Do not trade for the sake of trading. You will likely need most of the material that you have to develop an attack. You also don’t want to simply throw all of your pieces at the king immediately. There is a fine line between healthy desperation and exasperation.
At this point, you may think this advice sounds contradictory and wonder: ‘What does this mean in practice’? How do I give up material in the spirit of attacking without trading down into a losing endgame?
The key is to spot a weakness, make a plan, and develop rapidly toward that aim. If you can visualize a mating pattern that only requires some of your material, you may find justified sacrifices that help you to reach that position. This might mean giving up a pawn or allowing an opponent’s piece onto a ‘good’ square which is away from your brewing attack. In the above diagram blacks poor king safety, lack of development, and the open h file mean her position is much worse.
Below is an example game where I came back against a 1900-rated player while down on material and in a worse position. Many of my moves were not among the engine’s top recommendations, yet by spotting issues with his king safety, spotting possible mating patterns, and developing my pieces with purpose, I was able to pressure him into a few key mistakes.
It is important to remember that your opponents are humans. If they get unjustifiably annoyed or cocky when you do not resign, they can easily make a mistake. Consider this old chestnut from the longest reigning World Chess Champion in history, “The hardest game to win is a won game.” While this is obviously an exaggeration, there is a kernel of truth to it.
In this position, I am down 3 points of material, and worse, the engine gives +5 for white. In the final position, fewer than 20 moves later, I am still down 3 points of material but giving mate.
Where is the ‘life’ in this position?
While I considered resigning after blundering a rook, I noticed that there were open lines to White’s king. My first task then, was to clear the way for an attack. This involved getting my pieces off the back rank and removing white’s strong g5 knight. While this involved trading my ‘good’ bishop. It was the only path to victory I could see.
15… Be7 16. O-O Bxg5 17. hxg5 Ne7
In this position, I played the objectively dubious move Ne7 with the intention of getting my rook into the game. You may notice that white could simply take on a8, though Nc8 imprisons the Queen indefinitely. I gambled that white would not go for that line. Again, the point is not to make the best move, but to play with vigor.
Here white’s advantage decreases even as he wins more material. I let him have my doubled pawns in order to win his passer on g6. This was a dubious trade on his part since there was little chance either h pawn would play a significant role if he were to develop his other pieces. Lazy play like this is fairly common from the player with the edge. Why take more material at the expense of tempi when attacking or consolidating are fast and true paths to a win?
22… Nxh4 23. Qxh4 Bxg6 24. g3
White begins to feel the pressure and makes a serious concession by moving one of his pawns. While this temporarily relieves the threat on g2, the light squares are now very weak.
24… Kd7 25. Qg4 Qd8 26. Bg5 Qe8
The King steps toward danger, defending d6, and allowing the Queen to support the upcoming the attack.
Another dubious move from white. Here, white is getting blasé about his king's safety, perhaps mistakenly thinking his material advantage (rooks on the back rank) translates into immunity.
31…Rg8 32. Kh2
Rg8 pins the pawn and increases the pressure along the g and h files. Kh2?? -+ attempts to bring the rook into the game, but it too late. Black is winning the pawn and his queen is coming to the h file with decisive effect.
32… Bxg4 33. Qd2 Qh5+ 34. Kg1 Bf3+ 0-1
I am sure some strong players will see this and say: “You played poorly, and your opponent simply blundered. Are you really proud of that?” I did play poorly by allowing the initial attack, and my opponent made a blunder, but that shallow analysis misses the point, which is that if there is life in a lost position, play on. Develop a plan and use the game as a chance to get creative. Test your opponent and hope that he gets complacent. To win, you do not need to play well; you only need to play better than the person across from you.
In objectively lost positions play with vigor and resign when there is no hope and no way to create chances. Otherwise, your opponent will be right to think, ‘Get a life!’