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By Larry Parr
Chess Life Editor 1984 - 1988
Author
The
Uneasy Art of resigning a Lost Position (IV)
Resigning lost positions also affects memory adversely.
Once again, Sir Harry Golombek to the fore.
In 1964 he told a radio audience over B.B.C.’s Third Network, “What
about unjustified resignation? There
was the ending I resigned against Paul Keres at Margate, 1938, just when I had
in fact attained a drawn position.” Alas,
the game was played at Margate 1939, and Kasparov could not have drawn it
against the moldering bones of that legendary little old lady with a USCF rating
of 0008, who never scored a point:
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IM
Harry Golombek - GM
Paul Keres Margate, 1939
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Keres
Golombek
(to move)
70. a6
h2
71. a7
h1=Q
White resigns
The timing of when to resign a lost position is delicate.
Resign too early – both you and your opponent may feel robbed.
Resign too late – both you and your opponent may start punching.
But there can be dulcet accord about timing a resignation in a won
position. In the following
position, Hungarian GM Levente Lengyel sees a combination and German GM Klaus
Darga sees the same thing:
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GM
Klaus Darga - GM
Levente Lengyel, Amsterdam Interzonal, 1964 |
Lengyel (to move)
Darga
1. ...
R7xe2+??
Black finishes with a flourish rather than heading for a draw by 1. ...
Bxh4+ 2. Ng3, followed by Kg2
breaking the pin.
White resigns
Lengyel was delighted that Darga agreed with him that 2. Rxe2 Bxh4+
3. Kg2 Rxe2+ was hopeless for White.
Both grandmasters further agreed that the winning 3. Ke3 was impossible
because Black’s non-existent Rook on e7 could take the White King.
True, a moment later, Darga struck his forehead and exclaimed, “My God,
I have a winning position!” But
better late than never does not apply in chess.
This resignation may have cost Darga a place in a playoff for the
candidates’ matches.
Still, at least someone left the board happy when Darga resigned in a won
position. That cannot be said when
the same player forgot to resign a lost position against GM Miroslav Filip, who
was soon to become a world title candidate.
(continued next week)
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