English Chess Forum

Is it possible to resign a position when it is checkmate or stalemate on the board? That might seem a strange question, but the situation I have in mind involves the following possibilities (hopefully not as convoluted or contrived as they sound):

1) The players (A and B) are in a desperate time scramble.

2) Player A plays a move and:

(i) Player B spends a few seconds trying to find a move, but his flag falls and he shakes hands in resignation, only to discover to his horror that the position is actually stalemate. Can he retract the resignation and claim the draw?

(ii) Player B replies with a move that delivers check but he doesn't realise it is checkmate (it is a complex mid-board mating position involving pins and they are in time trouble, remember), and his flag falls between him making the move and pressing the clock (and he still has several moves to go to make the time control in any case). Player A points out (after the move was made on the board) that Player B's flag has fallen. Player A stops the clock and shakes hands in resignation, only to discover to his horror that he had actually delivered checkmate. Can he retract the resignation and claim the win?

Of course, Player A should accept the result on the board, not the handshake of resignation, but what would an arbiter make of all this? Technically, I suppose, the game ended at the point of stalemate or checkmate, so it is not possible to resign a game that has finished, but I can imagine some situations where Player A would insist they had won because Player B had resigned!

Christopher,

I think you are correct that checkmate and stalemate physically end the game and any decision after that is irrelevant, and when you checkmate somebody you dont have to press the clock as the game is finished, hopefully some qualified arbiter can confirm this though

Anyone else read this topic on the previous page and expect to find something about whether you could resign from being an ECF Director or not?

Checkmate or Stalemate come before resignation or time.

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:Is it possible to resign a position when it is checkmate or stalemate on the board?

This month's Gijssen column addresses this point amongst others.

http://www.chesscafe.com/geurt/geurt.htm

(Link gives the current month's column)

I remember playing this guy in a rapidplay (either leaminton or nuneaton) who kept playing in a lost position right up until the point where I mated him and went to shame his hand but he refused and continued to look at the board for about 30 seconds and then said ok I resign. I pointed out to him that the opportunity to bow out gracefully had now come and gone, and he stormed off in a huff saying what I bad sport I was.

I was watching a time scramble at the end of a rapid game last week in which one player moved into check then out of it the next move, without either of them noticing - suppose either checkmate or stalemate occurs on the board, neither player notices and they play on and eventually reach a different result. Could a player who was informed of this afterwards by a spectator then claim a win/draw? It would be difficult to prove if no-one was recording the moves.

Michael Jones >I was watching a time scramble at the end of a rapid game last week in which one player moved into check then out of it the next move, without either of them noticing - suppose either checkmate or stalemate occurs on the board, neither player notices and they play on and eventually reach a different result. Could a player who was informed of this afterwards by a spectator then claim a win/draw? It would be difficult to prove if no-one was recording the moves.<

13.7a Spectators and players in other games are not to speak about or otherwise interfere in a game.
Let us assume White wins, then Black might be justifiably upset if you mention the earlier illegality. It would be very rude behaviour by such a spectator.

Stewart Reuben

Thanks for the clarification.

Stewart Reuben wrote: 13.7a Spectators and players in other games are not to speak about or otherwise interfere in a game.
Let us assume White wins, then Black might be justifiably upset if you mention the earlier illegality. It would be very rude behaviour by such a spectator.

I had the same experience recently (someone moved into check and then out of check), and I did point it out after the game, but only to one of the players! The one who won. And only then because I knew them. If it was a game between people I didn't know, I wouldn't say anything, though I might look startled or move suddenly or look at another spectator and shrug my shoulders silently and raise my eyebrows in surprise (though spectators should try and restrain themselves from such reactions). If it was a world championship match, I might permit myself a snigger.

I had a lightning game a while back in which my opponent made an illegal move (taking a pawn on h4, but placing the capturing rook on h3 instead), which had I claimed it, would have meant an automatic win for me - but since I'd never have expected him to do so I thought I must be seeing things, and didn't claim (partly because I was winning anyway and didn't wish to jeopardise that by making a potentially erroneous claim). One of the spectators confirmed afterwards that I had indeed seen what I thought I had.