How Do You Resign

[MJMcCready]

So just to clarify, was the story regarding the person who cut the heads off the queens ever sourced or proven, or was it another chess fable as Winter might put it?

[Barry Sandercock]

Sounds like a chess fable to me.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"
When I decide to give up teaching chess to kids whose parents don't want them to be good at the game or learn properly and do a new edition of T(EM)CCA I'll refer to Edward Winter for this sort of thing"

I did like Steinitz's restrained reporting of his discussions with Blackburne.

[Mike Gunn]

Isn't the existence of Edward Winter another chess fable? (I have got his books, but has anyone here met him or got any proper evidence (of the sort that Edward Winter would accept) that he actually exists?)

[David Blower]

I have taken to knocking the pieces off the board.

This is common in primary school chess clubs before the children have learnt otherwise.

I have known certain adults who frequently knock over the pieces and on one occasion an adult even threw an analogue clock onto the floor!

Not mentioning any names though

I can beat that! I once saw an adult throw a digital clock on the floor!

[Arshad Ali]

I once saw an adult throw a digital clock on the floor!

Such people are a disgrace to the game and unfit to play. One thing one would hope the game teaches is a stoic acceptance of pain and defeat. And the ability to learn from a loss.

[MJMcCready]

An easy way to stop that sort of behaviour is to follow football and employ stewards at venues. Then if we get any unruly behaviour, the stewards could step in and eject the guilty parties from the premises!

[MJMcCready]

Perhaps using a tannoy to relay messages to stewards milling about away from the incident.

[David Blower]

I actually considered a complaint to the arbiter about the incident but decided not to because 1) I wasn't the direct match opponent and 2) I didn't think a repeat incident was likely.

However the opponent (a junior) managed to take the incident remarkably well as I chatted to him and his dad after we had both finished our matches.

It was at a congress. I was about 3 tables away.

[Jonathan Bryant]

"How do you resign?" became a question of some importance at yesterday’s tournament.

Round 5 delayed as it emerged that both players in one game from round 4 were claiming that they’d won. I don’t know the details but perhaps player one did something that player two interpreted as a resignation. Player two then stops the clocks and so player one thinks he’s won.

[Barry Sandercock]

Jonathan Bryant wrote:
"How do you resign?" became a question of some importance at yesterday's tournament.

That's why I think my method is probably best. Just turn your King over and shake hands.

[Clive Blackburn]

"How do you resign?" became a question of some importance at yesterday’s tournament.

Round 5 delayed as it emerged that both players in one game from round 4 were claiming that they’d won. I don’t know the details but perhaps player one did something that player two interpreted as a resignation. Player two then stops the clocks and so player one thinks he’s won.

I saw something similar happen years ago in a one day Rapidplay event.

White offered a draw at around move 20, in an approximately level position.
Black said nothing but played on, thereby declining the offer.

Much later, they arrived at a rook ending in which white had three extra pawns and was winning very easily.
Black extended his hand and white shook it, assuming that black was resigining.

Black then ridiculously claimed that he was accepting the previous draw offer and this lead to a huge argument, with the tournament controller awarding a win to white.
Black withdrew from the tournament, vowed never to play in it again and left the playing hall, still convinced that his opponent had in some way cheated him!

Perhaps white should have asked "are you resigning?" but black's position was so hopeless that it would seem unnecessary, especially as this all happened in the Major (U.160) section and not the Minor.

[Jonathan Bryant]

Jonathan Bryant wrote:
"How do you resign?" became a question of some importance at yesterday's tournament.

That's why I think my method is probably best. Just turn your King over and shake hands.

I’m not sure your method would have helped as the dispute only arose when the pairings were posted for round 5 and Player One thought he had a point less than he should.

Player One was in no doubt that Player Two had resigned. Player Two was in no doubt that he hadn’t.

Like I say, I don’t know the full details as I was on the other side of the room but the conversation - which as you can imagine got rather animated - was clearly audible.

As far as I can tell Player One’s case was not helped by

(a) not being able to explain why he hadn’t completed the results slip if he had one
(b) not being able to construct a plausible position in which Player Two had resigned. As far as I could tell he was agreeing with Player Two’s suggestion of what the final position was which clearly he wouldn’t have resigned (and I could see that from across the room).

Not that I think Player One was trying to con anybody. I think he genuinely believed he had won.


In the end the result stood, as I think it had to.

Black then ridiculously claimed that he was accepting the previous draw offer and this lead to a huge argument ....

Not sure why since in the circumstances you describe the player trying to claim the deferred draw is clearly being ridiculous as you say.


I did have one similar experience myself 25 years ago. Quickplay game, both flags hanging. I had queen against king and lone pawn. I get to one move away from mate and my opponent stops the clocks saying "I was hoping you would stalemate me" which is not an unreasonable thing to say in the circumstances although as it would turn out my opponent’s intended meaning was quite different to what I understood him to be saying.

So I hand the result slip in and two or three rounds later I’m called to the arbiter’s table. My opponent has noticed he has half a point less than he thinks he should have. Wasn’t our game a draw?

It was stalemate he says. I say, "No, you had a pawn".

No argument followed - it was clearly too late to change things anyway even if I had been in the wrong (which I most definitely wasn’t) - but it does show that it is possible to have a genuine misunderstanding about the result. Albeit not often.

[MJMcCready]

Is there anything in the ruling concerning double resignations? Presumably its happened before? The game is declared drawn I take it?

[Jonathan Bryant]

Is there anything in the ruling concerning double resignations? Presumably its happened before? The game is declared drawn I take it?

Never seen that before in 30 years or chess. I did once have to adjudicate a beginners' game once: White was three queens up but didn’t have a king.