When to resign - Etiquette - An honest appeal

Let me put it this way. If you do this OTB in consistent fashion against club players you will be mated most of the time and many will: a) roll their eyes in exasperation and/or b) make a mental note about not engaging you off the board and/or c) brand you as an annoying player and (if vindictive or crossed) make sure they make your chess life as unpleasant as possible.

"You don't resign in blitz, especially when you *really* want to win."

Resign in blitz? Who's got the time to resign?

When we get to the point in a chess forum where people are posting dictionary definitions of "slander," maybe it's time to move on

I'm a strong club and county level player. I often play on in a losing position to see if I can come up with some brilliancy and sometimes I do. It isn't your job to judge whether you think I'm capable of it. It's your job to win a winning position, isn't it. I only resign if I'm sure the opponent is capable of winning and will win it. Otherwise, if I'm not sure, I play on. There's nothing so dangerous as a wounded animal.

There is something about citing to Webster's that just kills me. As if the editorial board at Webster's is anything more than just another group of people with an opinion about what a word means.   

If you don't want to have any measure or standard, relativism and (in the end) nihilism is right up your alley.

A few times here I've stumbled upon non resigning people below 1200 in blitz. Granted, I play mostly 3+2 and increment accumulates if you know how to use it. Not to mention that it's blitz, so swindles and blundering are very much part of the nature of blitz. However...

As an appeal to all of you who never resign lost positions, not even down on time and on the board, please stop that. I know, I know, your opponent has to convert, it's within the rules, you want to see the checkmate pattern they go for to mate you, it's funny to see their blundering. But please, don't. Resign lost positions and play another game. If you can't resist forcing your opponent to convert 2 pieces up in the hopes of swindling (sometimes you will succeed in this) or you want to test if your opponent can mate you R+K vs K or B+K+k vs K, please... at least make it known in the chat, and do it infrequently, the more infrequently, the better.

I've recently blocked one player who forced me to mate him R+K vs K, and in the end I didn't (couldn't care). He got his well fought draw and I got to block him. Don't be that kind of beginner player. Unless you're playing a very important game (it doesn't even have to be rated to be important) and the consensus is that no quarter will be given, don't become the obnoxious non resigner.

Follow good etiquette. Acknowledge you're lost, resign and play your next game. If you ever play chess people OTB in either rapid or classical chess and you routinely don't resign obviously lost positions, your social standing in whatever serious chess scene will take a dive. It's all fun and whatnot in blitz over the internet. Heck, if there is no increment, flagging is part of the game... but please, don't get those attitudes in classical/rapid chess OTB. Learn to resign gracefully and become an upright chess citizen.

Can someone please clear this up for me - is this topic a weak troll attempt by the OP, or should I be concerned for his mental health?

A few times here I've stumbled upon non resigning people below 1200 in blitz. Granted, I play mostly 3+2 and increment accumulates if you know how to use it. Not to mention that it's blitz, so swindles and blundering are very much part of the nature of blitz. However...

As an appeal to all of you who never resign lost positions, not even down on time and on the board, please stop that. I know, I know, your opponent has to convert, it's within the rules, you want to see the checkmate pattern they go for to mate you, it's funny to see their blundering. But please, don't. Resign lost positions and play another game. If you can't resist forcing your opponent to convert 2 pieces up in the hopes of swindling (sometimes you will succeed in this) or you want to test if your opponent can mate you R+K vs K or B+K+k vs K, please... at least make it known in the chat, and do it infrequently, the more infrequently, the better.

I've recently blocked one player who forced me to mate him R+K vs K, and in the end I didn't (couldn't care). He got his well fought draw and I got to block him. Don't be that kind of beginner player. Unless you're playing a very important game (it doesn't even have to be rated to be important) and the consensus is that no quarter will be given, don't become the obnoxious non resigner.

Follow good etiquette. Acknowledge you're lost, resign and play your next game. If you ever play chess people OTB in either rapid or classical chess and you routinely don't resign obviously lost positions, your social standing in whatever serious chess scene will take a dive. It's all fun and whatnot in blitz over the internet. Heck, if there is no increment, flagging is part of the game... but please, don't get those attitudes in classical/rapid chess OTB. Learn to resign gracefully and become an upright chess citizen.

I've recently blocked one player who forced me to mate him R+K vs K, and in the end I didn't (couldn't care). He got his well fought draw and I got to block him. 

 I've also offered draws in similar positions when I'm tired. Sometimes my opponent has accepted such an offer when I have known I'm about 30 seconds short of the time I would need. That's what happens when you're held in respect as a strong player in the local leagues, and to maintain that respect, there is no way I would play on in a lost position unless I thought I had a chance of achieving a result. Similarly, in about the last local league match I played in before our club folded I was winning as black, in a slightly difficult position, against someone graded 2363 FIDE. I had about four minutes left and he had three minutes. I should have offered a draw but I thought I could win, but he managed to create a complex position and trapped me into blundering. We both seemed tired and I cracked first, and that would be expected due to the difference in grades. If we both had half an hour left, I would have won. So he played on, it would have been bad manners for him to offer me a draw from a losing position, although I'd probably have accepted it. I think I was the equivalent of 2040, which is a big difference at that level. Bigger than the difference between a 1500 and an 1800.