This is why you don't resign at the beginner level

I made some absolutely awful blunders but managed to gut out a win somehow. I seriously considered resigning but decided to play on and see what I could make happen. Didn't expect to win at all though lol

:-)

if white had castled, they'd probably be savouring the victory...

very  well  played!!!!

Nice comeback.  I like the spirit you showed--you weren't mated, so you kept playing, looking for chances.  I'll show you one of my tournament games, where I played horribly, having massive halucenations, but since it wasn't mate (and it was a tournament), I played on, and got a huge gift.

 He didn't castle with the queens on the board: the king was totally exposed and the rooks were spectator pieces ...

@Dash

The principle behind resigning isn't "quit because it is pointless and you have no chance"--the principle behind resigning is "respect." Respect (in any contest or sport), must be put before the desire to "win no matter what."

That is why, if you would have resigned a game against a player in your club out of respect, then you should resign against a tournament opponent out of respect if you get in a similar position where "you could win the game easily if the pieces were switched."

But as for the game you posted, even at move 19 Teary wouldn't have resigned himself. There are still a lot of heavy pieces and complications on the board at that point, in addition to black having the Bishop pair. At the very least, Teary would have let it get down to only minor pieces, or maybe a single Rook and a minor piece before deciding whether or not to resign.

Thanks for the responses folks! I appreciate the feedback

Teary_Oberon

I don't know about you, but to me, the reason for resigning is that there is no way to prolong or save the game.  Respect really has nothing to do with it, it's the realization that to continue is hopeless.  A club game (to me) is about playing for fun, and after move 13 black is merely a punching bag, and that isn't fun.  But this was a tournament, and fun doesn't necessarily enter into the equation.  I played because as bad as it was, it wasn't over, there wasn't a clear mating sequence, so I played on with the idea that once one was on the board, I'd resign.  Since that never happened, I played on.  I could have resigned with honor at almost any point in the game, even up to the last few moves--after move 12, black was dead meat.

@Dan

For a tournament player I would think that you'd know more about chess etiquette than you do. Playing on in a hopeless situation where you have few remaining resources is bad enough, but continuing on in a hopeless situation and then resigning right before a mating combination is even ruder.

NM Dan Heisman has written some nice things on the subject:

"The president of my first chess club gave me the following advisce, which I will paraphrase:

Dan, you are a beginner. Our club has many fine players who will be willing to play you. When you play them you have two choices if you are losing to a much better player. If you reach a position where YOU could beat THEM easily, the proper thing is to resign and thereby not insult them as to their ability to mate you nor waste their time. However, if you are curious as to how they can best checkmate you, you may play the game out to checkmate, but it is considered bad manners to make them play all that extra time and then resign right before checkmate, so let them mate you."

That would also apply if you are both strong players (B class or above), so show a little respect to your opponents and and resign from time to time.

Teary played this game a while back, and resigned because he had respect for his opponent's ability to convert the advantage to a win.

Teary

Don't lecture me on chess etiquette--in a tournament, I resign when it's time to resign, and not a moment sooner.  You fight until there is no fight left.  If you resign out of respect, then I'll bet you're a very respectful player with a lot of experience at it.

I personally do not think you should resign period.  Why give up before the game is over?

Teary wasn't lecturing you--he was simply pointing out obvious, universally accepted rules of chess etiquette that a tournament player should have already known.

But if it is a real lecture dash is wanting from Teary, then he will have to recieve it on the chess board.

Dreary_Untermensch

I have two words for you, and they ain't merry chrstmas, happy birthday, or good luck.

Well, Teary can at least see dash's true attitude coming out now. The disrespect apparent in his comments probably carries over to his games as well.

Honestly, what are parent's teaching their kids these days?

hey rj, awesome game! remind me to not resign next time you start thrashing me ;)

Hahaha thanks. Will do, my friend!

hey rjb

Teary would like to shut up now before dash starts using bad words. Teary should also stop refering to himself in 3rd person because that was just confusing for me to begin wtih, not reading the posters name (although that is my problem actually)