A modest proposal: conditionally resign

Dear chess community,

While playing today, I had a great idea for a site feature.

Everyone knows how fragile chess players' egos are, so I'm obligated to propose a great idea: "CONDITIONAL RESIGN". After you derp up and see a tactic that costs you the game, you should be able to use your conditional move to resign if the opponent plays it! This way, you spare yourself the humiliation of actually having to hit that button, and of being taunted by chess.com asking you if you're "sure" you don't want to expose yourself to forks, pins and three pawns underpromoting to bishops for the next 12 moves as your position crumbles.  In fact, you can just slink away quietly, the tail between your legs tactfully hidden by the shadows.  It's brilliant. 

(...Though I'm sure everyone would just use this to bm and resign before mate in 1.)

sounds like you've resigned too many games lately and need a breather from playing chess.    It happens.

If you have played  over the board competitions, the process is similar to chess.com.     As you are losing and things get progressively worse, you are asking yourself if you should resign or keep playing.   When you finally decide to throw in the towel, it is similar to chess.com asking are you sure, when you press the Resign button.    so you might think of chess.com as your inner chess conscience.

As far as resigning one move before mate, there are always several folk like that.   When in high school, one guy did that so often -- not giving people credit for being able to beat him, that one guy ( me....lol ) ended up promoting all my remaining pawns to Horses.   But the guy still didn't get it and resigned one move before mate.   So then after that game, I just played to beat him in a straight type manner.    Though if you wish to experience many horses against your forces, challenge me ( as I see you do not accept challenges at this time ).    though if you wish to play me on-line chess, it would be fine to set it up  NonRated using the Takeback feature -- which is a good way for anyone to learn while they play.

I would resign in such position right away, don't need to wait for it.

I guessed if you continue the game that could be good idea, because you know you blundered badly and there is no way to survive but my point is let the opponent to spot your error.

Play few moves before you see clear end. There is no harm if you continue to play till end.

The better player is the earlier he/she resigns in a bad position. Chess is not only about defeating for good players but rather about quality of chess. And it shows dignity if you see that you have lost and resign. I'm always curious what is going on in the mind of a person who is playing in a complete lost position.

Going back to the original post, I like the idea of conditional resignation feature. You could use it like a kind of Russian roulette even in positions where you are winning. Say your opponent has 6 reasonable (but not winning) moves; you pick one and say "OK, if they play that I resign". You feed in your conditional resignation and wait! Immagine the adrenaline! And imagine your opponent's bafflement as they try to work out why on earth you resigned!

When and whether to resign is one of the most common discussion points on chess.com. I think, in games where there is a time limit it's OK to play on, especially if you have a time advantage. In a corespondence-type game (online chess) then it's more dignified to resign when all hope is lost. Some would see it as insulting if you don't. What is very undignified is to keep offering the draw in a lost position. I had a game which was the last game still being played in that round of a tournament. My opponent played on for maybe 10 moves when he should have resigned. He also used his 48 hours to the maximum, moving in the last few minutes every time, which he hadn't done earlier in the game. He also offered me a draw every move. We kept about 50 other players waiting for maybe a month while we finished our game. I was embarassed. He apparently wasn't.

Josechu -- Offering Draws after each move is annoying and low class.   That is why in USCF tournaments, there is a rule, ( at least when I played in tournaments 15+ years ago )  either player can offer a Draw.   However, if your Draw Offer is declined, you can NOT offer one again, until your opponent had offered you a Draw and you turned it down.

This is similar rule to the doubling cube in Backgammon !

Looks like this post sparked some legitimately interesting discussion, although it was really just meant to be a humorous take on that feeling you have when you see a tactic one moment too late :)

Humorous or not, it really is a good idea!

Tipping your king is a legal move, so why not make it a conditional possiblity?

Good idea.  Resigning should be an option on conditional moves, why not?  It would be polite to your opponents, instead of making them wait if you know you will resign after they make a particular move.  And it would be easy fro the programmers to implement.

I had forgotten about this thread. But while I'm here I'll share a post that I wrote in a Vote Chess game. (It's supposed to be funny). 

There should be seperate buttons for different types of "resignation".

RESIGN: (when your bishop has been caught in a compromising situation with your opponent's queen, and your trusted knights are getting a bit too close to some of your underage pawns, and your rooks have been arrested for brawling in a public place, and your own queen has been photographed drunkenly leaving a nightclub en deshabille, then it's time to resign.)

SURRENDER: (when your opponent still has all his pieces and has taken all your pieces and all your pawns, it's time to surrender "to prevent further bloodshed.")

ABDICATE: (when your great grandson, who is four, has a mate in two against you after 10 moves, then it's time to abdicate.)

SHUFFLE OFF: (when you're playing so badly that it's embarassing, then you should have the option to shuffle off.)

FLOUNCE OFF: (when you are the sort of person who behaves like a spoiled schoolboy who "doesn't want to play any more" because he's losing. Then the Flounce Off button is the one for you.)

Some of the others are obscene.

I wouldn't mind having this option 

I agree.  I almost resigned a game, but the guy missed the move, glad I didn't.  Other times I go ahead and resign just to save face.

Awesome idea!