"If it's after the other player has continued an oviously hopeless game instead of resigning, then I can understand their motive. "
Good, maybe you can explain it to me then. Is that motive to teach someone not to waste your time by wasting a bunch of your own time? If these people value their own time so little that they do what is described, then what is the problem with a player playing on in an "obviously hopeless" position? Also, "obviously hopeless" to whom?
#8 were does one draw the line? promoting to 4 queens before dishing out mate?
Of course the best way would be to deliver mate fast and clean. But sometimes if the opponent refuses to resign a hopeless position with enough time on opponents clock one feels very tempted to play cat and mouse with him, giving him a broad hint.
(Young) beginners play everything until mate. At my playing strenght and some hundred points below as well opponents are strong enough to deliver a mate without any problems. It would be rather rude to play everything until mate. Yes again, answering one rude behavior with another is not the finest thing, but i think one hopes that some get the hint in future games.
Why is it rude to play on? It obviously is not because it is wasting the opponent’s time, if wasting more of their own time makes sense as a reply. So what is the hint you are hoping they get? That wasting time is ok?
A person who plays on in a lost position might do so because they don’t realize it is lost, or because they want to learn from how their opponent finishes the game, or because they are hoping for a blunder from the opponent. The only reason at all I see to get annoyed by this behavior as the winning side is because you would rather be doing something else. But this cannot be the answer, if you think it is worthwhile to choose to use more time on that game, so what reason is there?
It could be that both players in this hypothetical scenario are jerks, but the only one who is for certain being a jerk is the player getting upset at having their time wasted as they proceed to waste a bunch of their own time.
I quite often when in a completely won position love to capture all the material needlessly and promote to queens and such. I do this because I think it is funny, or because I enjoy the challenge of trying to create certain types of checkmates. I don’t see a problem with this behavior, but I’m no victim with a point to prove either. It has also led to me stupidly drawing the game via stalemate a couple of times too, which I assume my opponent got a kick out of.
Also, if a person genuinely is playing on in a lost position for the sake of annoying their opponent, doing anything that communicates how annoyed you are is most likely going to encourage them to keep doing it.
Sometimes i wonder why a master has resigned his game and have to figure out. They assume that their opponents sees how to finish them off. And if a opponent is one queen up, he has enough time and i have no dirty trick left, i assume that he mates me very easy. So i prefer to don't waste time playing on a hopeless position and most of the time i also prefer to finish the opponent off.
And anyway, your collecting material, getting queens, play for particular mates isn't any better then letting the time run out before mate in one. It's also wasting your time...
@Chuck_Fess If you address someone else's post, I suggest to use
@username so that they get a notification that you're mentioning their post.
"Is that motive to teach someone not to waste your time by wasting a bunch of your own time?"
Yes, that is one motive that I can understand.
"If these people value their own time so little that they do what is described, then what is the problem with a player playing on in an "obviously hopeless" position?"
Teaching a lesson may be more valuable than the original intentional wasting of your opponent's time. Sometimes teaching a lesson may involve action that is not optimally promoting the "teacher's" egoistic goals. Also, a reaction doesn't justify a wrong. Someone hitting me back doesn't justify me hitting them first.
"Also, "obviously hopeless" to whom?"
To the player that is about to lose.
"And anyway, your collecting material, getting queens, play for particular mates isn't any better then letting the time run out before mate in one. It's also wasting your time..."
Why is it wasting my time? I can choose to do what I wish. My opponent can resign at anytime, and that they choose not to implies that they also wish to continue. The point is, I don't believe I'm teaching people some lesson, as you claimed. I could end the game whenever I want, and I choose not to sometimes because I feel like doing something funny.
This whole chain of argument started when I responded to another user who said they could understand the logic of letting their clock run down before delivering mate if their opponent had played on in a lost position. That is what this argument is about. You are not the arbiter of what people are allowed to find worthwhile, and the idea that you can teach them this undefinable thing by letting your clock run down rather than delivering mate is embarrassing. It is inconsistent, hypocritical, arbitrary nonsense.
Also, it's against the rules. Playing on in a lost position is not.
@Chuck_Fess Again: Letting the time run out just before mating or doing some nonsense moves is the same behavior. You could have another opinion about that. I respect your opinion. I don't respect your aggressive behavior.
There are some who wait with their first move as well. I just assume they're kids/young adults.
Waiting to checkmate someone is pretty stupid IMO.
The game ends at checkmate, end it already!
Expecting the opponent to resign with mate in one/two in sight implies that your opponent knows this unwritten "club rule". Also, when I'm about to deliver checkmate, it's often disappointing to see my opponent resign before the coup de grâce. It's like he/she doesn't acknowledge the victory.
So this unwritten rule stinks.
Play until mate or flag should be the norm.
