I'm talking about cases where the losing party has absolutely no play whatsoever. They're in an endgame. They have two pawns left. One is a king pawn, blockaded. The other is a rook pawn sitting on their own second rank. The opponent also has two pawns. And two rooks.
If the other person has earned enough of my respect that I feel confident they won't let me get away with a cheapo, and they won't blunder their rooks away or stalemate me, I will resign. If I feel I might get away with something, there is still play in the position.
How about nicely? What if I point to you respectfully that you should consider resigning?
This will probably not persuade me to resign. More likely, it will irritate me.
Why "should" I resign? Because you're too cheap to pay $20/year to help out the site?
I guess if you said, very very nicely, "I don't have a membership, and I really need this slot to open, and it's clear I will win - I mean all I have to do is XXX and YYY and ZZZ and you can't avoid the eventual checkmate - would you mind resigning? I'm not trying to be pushy, but I'd like to start another game" then maybe, if I agree with your analysis, I might resign. Maybe. Then again, you could just fork out $20 for the year like I did.
The second it becomes a demand where you're going to talk smack about me for not resigning, you've made me an enemy, and I am NOT going to submit to you on your little power trip. My resignation is not your right. Say that to yourself every time that urge strikes you..."His resignation is not my right, his resignation is not my right..."
Originally posted by AThousandYoungCan a subscriber ask you to resign? Would that make it alright?
[b]I'm talking about cases where the losing party has absolutely no play whatsoever. They're in an endgame. They have two pawns left. One is a king pawn, blockaded. The other is a rook pawn sitting on their own second rank. The opponent also has two pawns. And two rooks.
If the other person has earned enough of my respect that I feel confiden ...[text shortened]... that urge strikes you..."His resignation is not my right, his resignation is not my right..."[/b]
Anyhow - that was a cheap shot; and had nothing whatsoever to do with the question being discussed. What racial slurs are to the real world, non-subscribership appears to be to RHP. And yes, in some parts of the world, $20 is a big deal. When I was back at uni, $20 would've been half my allowance for the semester.
According to the Guided Tour,
Games can be played simultaneously with as many players as you wish.
I could find nothing that indicated that members had a maximum number of games.
I think however that I heard once that you can only have 100 games.
100 games!
100 games is plenty. I have a hard time seeing a subscriber so desperate to open a new game slot that he'd need to ask me for my resignation. That is such a crude thing to do, and with 100 games (or infinite?) available, there is almost no reason to do so.
I'd respect such an individual less that I would a nonsubscriber in that at least the nonsubscriber is limited to a fairly low number of games. However, the subscriber shelled out $20, so it cancels out I guess.
Either way it's a really obnoxious, arrogant request, and it would be really hard to convince me to resign at your request unless you're really, really nice about it, and can convince me (through words if you don't want to do it over the board) that you can force the win.
*Edit* The reason I brought up subscribership is that the only legitimate reason I can think of for asking for a resignation is if you were playing your maximum number of games, which is much more of a factor for a nonsubscriber.
I guess if you had to leave the country for an emergency funeral and would have no internet access for a month, that would be a reason too. If so, then tell me about it, and be really, really nice - and acknowlege that you're making a normally insulting request. Don't demand, beg for it, because you're asking for a favor, not insisting on something I owe you.
Three basic steps for a beginner before he makes his move:
1. what can he (the opponent) do to me (examine the whole chessboard, looking at all checks and captures, alignment of pieces and pawns, etc.)
that having been decided
2. What can I do to him (again look at all checks, captures, and alignment of pieces and pawns)
Then
3. After I make my move, what might be his next move (go back to #1)
go through these 3 steps on each move. Most of my losses are because I didn't fulfill one of these 3 steps correctly on each move. And I would wager, even on master level the same happens. It's an oversimplification, but it is a method that has its merits.
Originally posted by martinbeaverIf they point out that they have a forced mate, my advice to a beginner is to try to understand the forced nature of the putative mate. If you see it, thank them for the game and resign. If you don't see it say so and ask them to show you. You would be silly to resign on the basis of your opponent's say-so. You would be even sillier to forgo the opportunity to see this forced mate in action.
if they politely mentioned that they had a forced mate ...
A: I have a forced mate in 6.
B: Oh, that's interesting. Please show me how it works.
If A gets all huffy after an exchange like that, there's something seriously wrong with A, NOT with B.
Best Regards,
Paul