When is the right time to resign or continue a game?

[p2501]

Reminded me of this tweet:
https://twitter.com/BadukMovies/status/ ... 2491461632

[daal]

It also makes a difference how strong both you and your opponent are. If you are both ddk, I'd say never resign. Who knows what you might discover? If you are ddk and your opponent is sdk or better, it might be good to resign when you think you are significantly behind in order to not try your opponent's patience. This might encourage them to point out the mistakes you've already made and perhaps play you again sooner rather than later. Same goes for sdk vs dan. I recall Shapenaji saying that he would quit against his mentor if a group had lost it's meaning. With sdk vs sdk, you should be able to know if the game is no longer close, and if there isn't much exploitable aji and the game isn't already almost finished anyway, resigning is a way of cutting your losses. You can practice your endgame in a game where it might make a difference. As to what dans vs dans should do, I guess we'll find out when we get there .

[SmoothOper]

A little about it at sensei

[...] its better to resign and go to the next game than to place stones everywhere hoping for that blunder. It's unpolite, a time waste and you learn nothing for the next game.

I don't really regret resigned games, even if I later discover I might have had a chance, because the time not spent on a lost game is better used on one with possibilities.

If I am winning, I appreciate the opportunity to take my opponents stones off the board. I especially like capturing large groups. I also prefer playing games out and if possible calculating out the blunders(both mine and my opponents), sometimes it isn't possible but sometimes it is, like if they or I didn't read out a life and death problem correctly. Sometimes I feel it is a waste of time to start another game just because of a mistake, and on IGS I will review and play out the game by myself anyway.

I think the resigning early thing only really applies to players of dramatically different strengths or massive blunders early in the game.

[Time]

If you've ever played on tygem, you should know that you should never resign until your opponent can't self-atari any of their groups anymore.

[Alguien]

The real answer to that question is: "between the first and the last moves, both included."

That is the only time when it's correct to resign or continue a game.

[HKA]

This question comes up all the time. Like many questions, there is no good, one size fits all, answer, although there are many bad ones.

We simply cannot judge what another person thinks is possible, particularly with the help of an opponent.

Ultimately life is short and many games reach a point where it would be better to start another. The one answer I always think is bad is "I do not resign because I like to work on my endgame". You need to recognize that you are not getting much practice if your opponent has 40 pts to spend in the endgame.

My answer is related to what I think is the wrong answer above. Don't resign when you cannot win in some absolute if everyone was a 9 dan sense, resign when you are no longer trying to win. I have no problem with trying to live in a territory where life should be impossible, if living would win the game.

I do have a problem with losing 30 minutes of my life while you try to make a 30 pt loss only a 25 pt one.

[topazg]

My answer is related to what I think is the wrong answer above. Don't resign when you cannot win in some absolute if everyone was a 9 dan sense, resign when you are no longer trying to win. I have no problem with trying to live in a territory where life should be impossible, if living would win the game.

I do have a problem with losing 30 minutes of my life while you try to make a 30 pt loss only a 25 pt one.

This perfectly sums up my feelings too

[Uberdude]

It also depends what/where the game is. I will resign earlier in a friendly cafe game than a competitive tournament game.

[Alberich]

What about resigning early or later if you play against a strong computer opponent? What goes into that decision. Is there a different motivation factor in determining when to resign if you're either playing another human beling or computer software?

[oren]

What about resigning early or later if you play against a strong computer opponent? What goes into that decision. Is there a different motivation factor in determining when to resign if you're either playing another human beling or computer software?

If it's a computer, just resign whenever. You won't hurt its feelings.

[Alberich]

Maybe what I meant is...by how many points behind should one resign?

[xed_over]

Maybe what I meant is...by how many points behind should one resign?

how about when there are not enough points left to come from behind and win?

[Alberich]

Maybe what I meant is...by how many points behind should one resign?

how about when there are not enough points left to come from behind and win?

What about 20 - 60 points behind?

[jts]

Maybe what I meant is...by how many points behind should one resign?

how about when there are not enough points left to come from behind and win?

What about 20 - 60 points behind?

I may be misjudging, but based on some of the questions you've asked, you're still at a level where, first, you have no idea whether you're 60 points behind and second, could easily see a 60 point swing in the score over 10 moves.

How far behind you should be when you resign depends on how strong you are. Last week I thought I was hopelessly behind after a blunder and counted; it turned out I was only 5-10 points behind. (then I blundered again, but that's a different story.)

[Uberdude]

Another answer to a good time to resign is when your opponent asks you to do so by playing a super-slow safe defensive move (or A19 if he's feeling cheeky) as a signal that he's plenty ahead and by fixing that last one bit of bad aji it's game over even with suboptimal moves, such as my c3 in http://www.online-go.com/games/board.php?boardID=347746.