I think being more than 2 pawns down would suffice for a resignation against a GM, but I have also seen a lot of GM simul games where they have played it out to mate.
I say, if he offers you a draw in a late middlegame position, just take it and brag around. If you decline, you'll probably go on to lose anyway.
It should be amazing to start OTB chess with playing against a GM, have fun, good luck, and don't forget to post the game here later.
One more -- the organizers and Onischuk agreed to let the everyone choose their color and opening (with veto power given to Onischuk for abusive choices). Am I stupid for not wanting to use this bonus? I kinda want to get the full feel of playing a GM and just pick a side (probably white) or flip a coin, and play from the start.
I would do the same, i.e. play from the start. However, there can't be anything wrong about picking a side now and preparing.
yeah... right now I'm leaning toward just picking white and preparing for the Ruy Lopez (from what I see his usual choice as black against e4)... i think the thing making me rethink it is the vast number of variations that I know am going to screw up. But that is pretty true of any opening.
edit: didnt even see your first post... yes if i can get a draw offer in the late middle game I'm going to bronze the board the way it is, and then later try to get him to sign my new mantlepiece
As far as resigning goes ... I tend to continue playing on for longer in simuls than in normal games, because I'm not here for winning (I wouldn't mind that either :)) but for playing the master. Now there are the non-stop simuls where you can just sit down again and start a new game, but if you're "out" as soon as the game is over, I tend to resign late or play on until mate. So far the masters I've played didn't mind that, but I've read a story of Victor Korchnoi getting really angry about this and knocking on the pieces box on the table of opponents to signal they should resign. If you pay for it, I'd say go on as long as you can :)
weeks and weeks late on posting this, but here is my blog for the game -- as I think I mentioned here, my worry was to blunder the opening... and oh did I ever... but I still had a very good and informative game that if you are very optimistic (and slightly basing your self-esteem off of it like i am :) :P ) maybe could have worked a draw out of the game with some better play in the middlegame and early endgame.
http://blog.chess.com/view/fighting-back-against-gm-alexander-onischuk
So after 2 years of playing almost entirely online, I am making the jump to OTB play. Naturally I chose GM Alexander Onischuk as my first over the board opponent. Ok, so its a simul, but I'd still like to spare myself of making an embarassing mistake (and not a chess mistake, I know that'll happen... a decorum mistake). I went out and joined USCF, bought a tournament chess set, timer, and score book (not the timer or USCF membership are necessary for the simul, but I'll be in a tournament next week), and read an article or two on simul tips/rules (btw a good list for others looking for tips and rules for simuls can be found here -- http://www.chessblog.com/2009/08/chess-simul-top-10-tips.html).
Are their any other bits of information I probably should know but don't? For instance, I have no plans on offering a draw in the opening, like I read about others doing a lot, just to say I drew against him (I want to play long enough that this game costs at most $1 per move), but what if he offers a draw? Is it bad form to decline a draw offer from a GM in a simul when its not a clear draw yet? My instincts tell me no, but my instincts also tell me offering a draw in a dead-drawn position when you are down material is fine, and I know that is a hot topic. Also, at what point is it more polite to resign than to keep playing? If I am down a pawn, I assume that's fine, but if I'm down two pawns, or a piece, or more likely a queen, a rook, and a piece should I just resign and give him more time to think about the other games?
Any tips on decorum are welcome, as are tips on playing Onischuk. Luckily I have had 4 months of practice against him with the Chess.com vs. Onischuk vote chess game.