English Chess Forum

I'm sure we will all have one or two examples of this. It's a horrible thing to happen if you're on the wrong side of it. So feeling a bit sorry for Mr Odendahl when he resigned in the following position in Round 6 of the Dutch Open only to find out later that resigning was not his best option.

Well, I did it once, I'm pretty certain that I haven't done it in the last 30 years!

Have to admit it looks at first glance resigns is a sound choice.

Before Black played 36...Qg3+ (White then resigned) 36...Rg8 just mates easily.

b4r1k/p4rb1/1p5p/2p1p3/2P4P/PQ1PPp1q/5P2/BR1RN1K1 b - - 0 1

Both players were caught with the same mirage of i't must be mate.'

The last move was Qxg3 so Rg8 isn’t an immediate win and Black still has work to do

Also see

My personal contribution. I was in blissful ignorance of this for almost 20 years.

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1283811

Here is one where I was on the receiving end of a mistaken resignation:
https://beauchess.blogspot.com/2017/09/ ... ition.html

I remember years ago in my old league seeing a player set up a smothered mate with queen and knight (you know the sort like Nf7+ Kg8, Nh6+, Kh8, Qg8+, Rxg8 Nf7mate ... if you dont know it then it is worth learning, but I digress) .

Anyway. Instead of playing the correct sequence of knight checks the white player just dumps his queen onto g8 and makes some comment like "oh thats it now" whereupon the black player obligingly resigns, only to have it almost immediately pointed out that he could have played Kxg8 and been a queen up .... as you can imagine, there were pretty major eruptions that took place!

Ahhh...now it makes sense. It must have been this.

b4r1k/p4rb1/1p5p/2p1p3/2P4P/PQ1PPpPq/5P2/BR1RN1K1 b - - 0 1

It was not clear something had been taken on g3 from the link.

Thanks Mathew and congratulations for winning the Scottish Title.
(and for kicking off a heated yet interesting debate in which is usually a sedate forum.)

https://www.chessscotland.com/forum/sho ... 9#pid19419

Your comment about Edinburgh being an interesting place; nothing is cheap. is on
the ball in the area where you strolled about. It's one big massive tourist trap.
It is expensive and everything has just gone up 10% because of the Fringe and Festival.

The locals know where to go for good cheap meals and shopping. Follow one of them.
For instance yesterday, roast beef, Yorkshire pud, roast spuds, sprouts, - followed by apple crumble/custard - £4.10.
Whereas a stale sandwich on the Royal Mile will cost you £4.50... and if you look like a tourists you will get short-changed!
That is why at this time of year I always wear my 'I'm Not a Tourist Badge.'

A classic example from today's 'Paignton' premier:
https://beauchess.blogspot.com/2019/09/ ... ition.html

Round 10 of the women's GP in Skolkovo featured Cramling - Kosteniuk. Not a winning position but Pia Cramling would have been equal if she had spotted 35 b4 instead of resigning believing she had lost a piece.

My eldest was playing in a rapid-play last weekend...

Although in a strong position, she was getting short on time, and made a poor choice of move, inadvertently leaving her opponent mate-in-one!

She later said she was about to resign, but her opponent, clearly missing the obvious, promptly offered a draw! Which she accepted, before showing her opponent the available move...

Rarely gets these things caught on a video but here is Vallejo - Santos 2018. Its an 18 minute video but its the last few seconds that is the theme. After 68.Rh8+?? Black has only one legal move, and it’s a winning one, but he still managed to go wrong… by resigning! After 68…Kxh8 69.Kxg6 Black can simply capture the bishop with Rxe5, controlling e8.

Therefore 68.Rh8+!! was the best move in the position. Very clever

[Event "Wolverhampton Chess League 2019-2020 Division Two - Brewood v Kidderminster B - Board 5"] [Site "Brewood Chess Circle"] [Date "2019.11.12"] [White "Kitchen, Michael J"] [Black "Blower, David"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "107"] [BlackElo "112"] [ECO "D02"] [Opening "Queen's Pawn: 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3"] 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3 Bf5 4.Bg2 e6 5.O-O Be7 6.Nbd2 Nf6 7.c4 O-O 8.a3 Re8 9.Nh4 Nxd4 10.Nxf5 Nxf5 11.cxd5 exd5 12.b4 c6 13.Bb2 Bd6 14.Nf3 h6 15.Qd3 Ne7 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.Bh3 Ng6 18.e3 Be5 19.Rab1 Kg7 20.Bg4 a6 21.Bh5 Qb6 22.Bxg6 fxg6 23.Nh4 f5 24.Nf3 Rad8 25.Rbe1 Bf6 26.Kg2 d4 27.e4 fxe4 28.Rxe4 Rxe4 29.Qxe4 Qc7 30.Rd1 c5 31.bxc5 Qxc5 32.Qxb7+ Qe7 33.Qxa6 Rd6 34.Qd3 g5 35.Re1 Re6 36.Rxe6 Qxe6 37.Nd2 g4 38.Ne4 Qc6 39.h3 gxh3+ 40.Kxh3 Qd5 41.Nxf6 Kxf6 42.f3 Qf5+ {White resigns.} {#R} 0-1

Here is one for me then. I am black in this game, my opponent resigned it is his turn to move.

He later told me that after the exchange of queens, that he thought my pawn on d4 would easily queen. It can be stopped by the king on h3.