Etiquette of Resignation?

Is it ever polite to request the resignation of another player, no matter what position they be in?

I'm in a game with someone who - rather rudely - just asked me too. If he hadn't said anything, I was already planning to in a few moves anyways. Its a completely lost position at this point. Now I feel like drawing this out as long as possible, as I really didn't like the tone he took. I would even call insulting. (He was also pretty rude in the previous game we played, in which I won).

nope...it's never polite to request resignation.

I agree it is not polite at all and if someone did it to me I would continue playing regardless of my position. Why did you play this person again after he was pretty rude in the previous game? There are enough other players.

That is rude and interrupts your concentration. I would disable my chat box.

derUbermensch

Yes, it is never polite in a serious match to request a resignation. I don't think I'd ever do something like that especially over the internet, and especially against a stranger.

However, I think in a serious training match between friends, I often resign when I know my opponent is dominating, and I often say things, politely of course, like, "Okay I got you in this position."

Ultimately though, yeah, your opponent was wrong in trying to prompt a concession from you.

Its a tournament. Have to play him twice. In the first game, he blundered (I then had mate on the move) wrote "fucking stupid" and resigned. No "good game," "well played" or anything. I think that is why he is being rude this time. He is pissed he lost too me. He is considerably higher rated than me, and I guess he just needs to reassure himself of his self-worth.

Clearly your opponent lacks patience.

If my opponent was so rude, I'd try to restrict my own options, but make it hard to close on my king... make him stalemate you if you can :-)

I don't mind conceding a lost position, but it's my decision to make to resign.

I know I'm going to probably going to be in the minority here, but I do think it's rude not to resign if your position is completely hopeless. I notice some people here engage in what I call "spite" play. That is, your game is totally lost, but you keep playing, not because there's a chance of winning, but to merely frustrate your opponent because you are sore about losing, and so drag the game out another 20 moves just because. In upper level play, draws are offered all the time, nothing to get upset about because you can always DECLINE the offer, but please...if your opponent has a queen, 2 rooks and a knight and a pawn on the seventh rank and all you have is a king, bishop and 3 pawns, do consider his/her offer.

One situation.  I have a chess club that packs up every day at 9:00, and we MUST be packed up by 9:30.  If we have an idiot playing a game at 9:20, a piece behind in the endgame, persistantly hanging on we will ask him to forfeit so we don't end up with all our tables outside for the night. 

The only time I've asked somebody to resign a game with me is when a group of children were waiting for me to finish the game.

agreed. but on top of that i see nothing wrong with asking the other player to resign when s/he is in spite-play mode.

i wasn't saying to play for the stalemate in a lost position, just i'd be sorely tempted to if my opponent wasn't prepared to wait on my decision to resign. I think being insulting in the chat window is more spiteful than making a player earn their win.

courtesy counts. I'm not advocating playing out a lost position all the time, but why treat an opponent with respect if they are not respecting you? besides, angry players sometimes make mistakes.

I've only had to do this once because my opponent thought I'd accept a draw (which was absurd because at that time I was clearly going to win). I tactfully said that I still had some life left in me. She then offered another draw a few moves later when she was about to lose her last piece (I was up two pawns and a rook). I told her nicely she had to resign or move, but I REALLY wanted to tell her to shove off for jerking me around. She took the high road and resigned. :-P

Imho, resignation should come from the party that decides to surrender or accepts impending defeat.To surrender is an honor, accepting that your opponent has successfully defeated you, in the name of sports. More so, respect is also earned from the winner for the reason that, an act of resignation is part  of being a dignified chess player.To ask your opponent to resign is a show of arrogance, which is unsportsmanlike in the true meaning of sports.

I agree that resignation in a clearly lost position is an honorable way to end the game.  I also agree that requesting a resignation is arrogant and rude.

If you don't evaluate the position as clearly lost, then play on.  You will either learn a valuable lesson or be vindicated in your evaluation.  There are positions where a player may be down to a lone king and yet draw against a king, bishop and pawn (rook pawn that queens on the "wrong color").

If you are only playing on because of your opponent's attitude, then IMO you are continuing for the wrong reason.  You have nothing to gain by such an action, and you bring yourself down to the level of the opponent whom you do not respect.  Admit by your resignation that he had the better game this time, congratulate him on his play, and wish him well for the rest of the tournament.  Your show of good sportsmanship will set an example that he may remember.  If not, you still have the satisfaction of behaving in a civilized manner and raising the level of our common chess environment by your actions.  I and many others like me thank you in advance for resisting the temptation to debase yourself merely to spite an inconsiderate player. 

Dear Fellow Earthling Chess Fanatics:

I have to agree that it's rude to ask for a resignation in any chess game.

However, do you believe that it's equally rude to refuse to resign in an obvious losing position? I have played people that wont resign and wont make a move for two and a half days and drag the game on and on. I have been tempted to ask for a resignation from these types of players. In my opinion I think that refusing to resign and asking someone to resign is childish.

Anyway, that's my two cents worth.

Here's my two cents: Yes, I think it's rude to ask someone to resign, unless it's like because of some time constraint, chess club that's closing, etc. But always rude on this site. However, I don't think it's rude to not resign and play to the end. I almost always play to the end. Know why? Cause people make mistakes. Especially since I'm about 1600 and people still make serious blunders in the endgame. If I resigned, what's to say that the opponent could've made a grave mistake and I could've won?

Also, what's the big complaint about "dragging out games" on this site? A game is clearly lost, so an opponent wants to use vacation time, or moves that lengthen the game...so what? Are you guys about to cancel your account? Are you sitting in front of your computers, frantically hitting the refresh button? Let the opponent take his time; it's not infinite. Let him take his time...if it's clearly a win for you, you will eventually win.

It seems our own pride is pinpricked by the ambiguity of words in a chat box

What if the opponent is trying to ask you to resign in a polite manner, but you misconstrue his meaning?

I think you should resign
Will you resign
Will you forfeit
You should resign
I don't think you can win

Seemingly neutral phrases, but when added to a chess game in which you are the losing side, it becomes an affront to your honor.

I believe it depends on the circumstances, on whether it is actually offensive or not. Here are some offensive phrases for example.

You're lost
You're beaten
Give up
Resign, you can't win
My grandmother plays better chess than you

I resign If I feel there are no resources left.

I will play on in totally lost positions, sometimes, eg. B+N vs lone King. I have a drawn game on this site from that, my (stronger)opponent didn't know the technique.

Just today, I played on a piece down against a much stronger opponent, I felt there was a chance for Rook pawn and Bishop of the wrong colour against lone king. When it became clear he wasn't going to fall for that. I resigned.

I will play on in lost K+P vs K positions, you'll be surprised how many players get that wrong, at my level...

I have no problem if my opponent wants to play on until mate, it's his right to do so. But, if my opponent hints, suggests or demands that I resign, I will play on till mate....

I dont think it is acceptable to ask your opponent for a resignation under any circumstances. If you really think he is at a point where he/she should resign, then you should be able to win without asking for a resignation. So i say that you should drag the match out awhile longer just to make him realize the lack of respect it shows to ask for your resignation.

- Gerik