07 December 2018

Premature Resignation?

This position arose in an online blitz game. In such games, some players attempt to appear respectable and resign when slightly worse. Others try to win dead drawn opposite colored bishop endings on the clock. There are many other behaviors in between these extremes.

White to move

White is clearly better. However, White's move 33.Bxh6 is not the knockout that White imagined. Nonetheless, Black resigned.

Play might have continued 33...Qf3+ 34.Qxf3 exf3+ 35.Kxf3 gxh6.

Although White's advantage is clear, it is far less than it was before 33.Bxh6 and in blitz, errors should be expected.

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