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Oops! I Resigned Again!
Uh-oh! That doesn’t look right!?
Who would be silly enough to resign a tournament game they were not losing? As Oops! I Resigned Again! shows, almost anyone – including some of the world’s best players!
Learn the stories behind the most embarrassing moment any chessplayer can suffer, while trying to outmatch the poor, unfortunate player who resigned. Indeed, this is the only chess puzzle book where you cannot do worse than the player in the game! Pit your wits against legends such as Kramnik, Nunn, Tarrasch and Timman, knowing that they failed the test and that you can, perhaps, do better.
Australian Grandmaster Ian Rogers has assembled 100 extraordinary positions in themed sets of 5 puzzles designed to both baffle and delight the solver, in a format which makes it easy to sneak a look at the answer!
With a foreword written by US Olympian Sam Shankland – baring his soul about his own silly resignation at a top level tournament – Oops! I Resigned Again! is a rare treat for chessplayers of all strengths, who after finishing the book will fervently hope never to have to say... Oops!
About the Author
Australian grandmaster Ian Rogers is a journalist, author and commentator. He was Australia’s top-ranked player from 1984 until his retirement in 2007. He played 14 Olympiads for Australia and won more than 130 classical tournaments on four continents, including twice winning the Commonwealth Championship title. He resigned unnecessarily only once! This is his first book for Russell Enterprises.
Who would be silly enough to resign a tournament game they were not losing? As Oops! I Resigned Again! shows, almost anyone – including some of the world’s best players!
Learn the stories behind the most embarrassing moment any chessplayer can suffer, while trying to outmatch the poor, unfortunate player who resigned. Indeed, this is the only chess puzzle book where you cannot do worse than the player in the game! Pit your wits against legends such as Kramnik, Nunn, Tarrasch and Timman, knowing that they failed the test and that you can, perhaps, do better.
Australian Grandmaster Ian Rogers has assembled 100 extraordinary positions in themed sets of 5 puzzles designed to both baffle and delight the solver, in a format which makes it easy to sneak a look at the answer!
With a foreword written by US Olympian Sam Shankland – baring his soul about his own silly resignation at a top level tournament – Oops! I Resigned Again! is a rare treat for chessplayers of all strengths, who after finishing the book will fervently hope never to have to say... Oops!
About the Author
Australian grandmaster Ian Rogers is a journalist, author and commentator. He was Australia’s top-ranked player from 1984 until his retirement in 2007. He played 14 Olympiads for Australia and won more than 130 classical tournaments on four continents, including twice winning the Commonwealth Championship title. He resigned unnecessarily only once! This is his first book for Russell Enterprises.
- GenresChess
160 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 3, 2021
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
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March 21, 2023
If you're already agonising over what you can get your chessplayer girlfriend/sister/grandmother for Christmas , then your troubles are no more: Oops! I Resigned Again! is the most hilarious and unputdownable chess puzzle book I have ever seen, but, a year after publication, is still almost unknown. Most chess puzzle books are rather depressing. In position after position, you try to find the brilliant move that X played against Y, and, unless you're a grandmaster, you usually can't see it. In a stroke of genius, Ian Rogers reverses the tired old formula. Here, every single time, the player to move decided their position was hopeless and resigned... but in fact they had a saving resource. So whatever move you choose, it can't be worse than the one actually played, and rather than getting depressed you are encouraged by the frequency with which you manage to outthink some remarkably strong players.
I couldn't resist quoting one of the most bizarre examples in my reading updates, but in general it seems wrong to drop more spoilers. Instead, here are two examples from recent online games I've played. Can you see why my opponents should not have given up when they did?
Position 1. dani004-mannyrayner, Lichess, 2022
Black has just retreated his rook from a2 to a8. White thought he had to move his queen, after which I will capture on d1 and then on e3, leaving me a rook up. But...
Position 2. NadieJuegaAjedrez-mannyrayner, chess.com, 2022
I have just taken a knight on f3 with a bishop, White has recaptured with a rook, and I have taken on d4, checking and hitting the bishop on c4. White resigned because he thought he was losing a piece for nothing. But...
__________________
[Update, Dec 12 2022]
I have been experimenting with ChatGPT, and like many other people am amazed by its tendency to produce shameless bullshit. Here's an example inspired by this book. I asked the question "Tell me about some chess games where strong players have resigned in winning positions" and ChatGPT gave a long answer ending thus:
1. Tigran Petrosian didn't play in the Candidates tournament in 1965.
2. In fact he couldn't have played there because he was World Champion at the time. The Candidates tournament selects the player who will challenge the World Champion.
3. After considerable searching, I am pretty sure that Spassky never resigned a winning position against Petrosian.
4. If a top grandmaster ended up in a technically winning position where they had a rook and bishop against a bishop and pawn, but could not see how to break through (already highly implausible), it is inconceivable that they would resign. At the very most, they might offer a draw.
I asked ChatGPT about (1) and (2). It admitted that Petrosian couldn't have played in the Candidates tournament, apologised, and said that the game had actually taken place in the 1966 World Championship match instead. When I asked which game, and said I had just looked at all the games and that no such game existed, it went into a defensive huddle and started telling me that maybe its training data had been incorrect or out of date.
It is of course extraordinary that one can have such a conversation with a machine. But right now, I feel that ChatGPT's most promising career choice might be to go into politics. It seems to have many of the key skills.
__________________
[Update, Mar 21 2023]
I thought I would try this example on the new GPT-4 based version of ChatGPT, which is better on, as we've now learned to say, facticity. Alas, here's what happens:
mannyrayner: Can you give me any examples of chess games between strong players where someone has mistakenly resigned in a position that in actual fact was winning for them with best play?
ChatGPT-4: While it's rare for strong players to mistakenly resign in a winning position, it has happened on occasion. One example is the game between Grandmasters Akiba Rubinstein and Gersz Salwe, played in Lodz in 1908.
d4 d5 2. Nf3 c5 3. c4 e6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. g3 Nc6 7. Bg2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 9. Nb3 Bb6 10. O-O d4 11. Na4 O-O 12. Bg5 Re8 13. Re1 h6 14. Nxb6 axb6 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Qxd4 Qxd4 18. Nxd4 c5 19. Nb5 Ba6 20. Nc7 Bxe2 21. Nxa8 Rxa8 22. Rxe2
At this point, Salwe, playing Black, mistakenly believed that his position was hopeless and resigned. However, with the best play, he could have continued with 22...Rxa2, followed by 23...Rxb2. Black's active rook and White's weak pawns on the queenside would have given Black reasonable chances for a win.
Keep in mind that even strong players can make errors in evaluating positions, and this case serves as a reminder to carefully consider the position before deciding to resign.
mannyrayner: I just looked up the game Rubinstein - Salwe, Lodz 1908. I find it in several places on the web, but the moves are different and I do not see Salwe resigning in a good position.
ChatGPT-4: I apologize for the confusion in my previous response. It appears that I made an error in providing the game details. After further research, I couldn't find a suitable example of a strong player mistakenly resigning in a winning position. Such occurrences are extremely rare, especially among top players who typically have a deep understanding of the game and a strong ability to assess positions.
If you are still interested in finding examples of surprising resignations, you may want to look into games where a player resigned in a drawn or unclear position. These situations tend to be more common than resigning in a winning position, as even strong players can sometimes misjudge the potential resources available to them.
mannyrayner: In fact, I was asking because a grandmaster friend recently published a book of positions where strong players have mistakenly resigned in positions that were not lost for them. In some cases they were winning. It is as you say very rare, but I was curious to see if you were able to find examples.
ChatGPT-4: I apologize for any confusion or inaccuracies in my previous responses. It's great to know that there is a book specifically focused on this topic. I don't have access to that book, but I can provide you with a famous example of a strong player resigning in a drawn position.
Game: Anatoly Karpov (White) vs. Garry Kasparov (Black)
World Championship Match, Moscow, 1987 - Game 23
d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qc2 Bb7 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 Ne4 8. Qc2 f5 9. e3 O-O 10. Be2 d6 11. O-O Nd7 12. b4 a5 13. b5 Qe7 14. Bb2 Rf6 15. d5 e5 16. Nd2 Ndc5 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 18. f3 Nc5 19. f4 exf4 20. Bxf6 Qxe3+ 21. Kh1 gxf6 22. Rf3 Qe4 23. Qd2 Nb3 24. Qe1 Nd4 25. Bd3 Qxe1+ 26. Rxe1 Nxf3 27. gxf3 Bc8 28. Re7 Ra7 29. Re8+ Kf7 30. Rxc8 Kg6 31. Kg2 Kh6 32. Kf2 Kg7 33. Bxf5 h6 34. Be6 Kg6 35. Rg8+ Kh7 36. Rf8
In this position, Karpov (White) is objectively not better, but the position is still complex and drawn. However, Kasparov (Black) resigned in this position, likely due to exhaustion and psychological pressure during the World Championship match.
While this is not an example of a player resigning in a winning position, it does show how even the best players in the world can sometimes resign in positions that are not lost.
mannyrayner: But the 1987 Kasparov - Karpov match was in Seville.
ChatGPT-4: You are correct, and I apologize for the mistake. The 1987 World Chess Championship match between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov took place in Seville, Spain, not Moscow. Thank you for pointing out the error. The game and move details provided in my previous response are accurate, though, and the resignation occurred in Game 23 of that match.
And so on. The final response is also hallucinated, and the conversation is clearly going nowhere.
As pointed out by the authors of the GPT-4 System Card, improved facticity doesn't necessarily mean the system is better. This is a good example. The games look rather more plausible, so I was at first glance more inclined to believe what Chat said. But since it's still hallucinating everything, this actually makes the problem worse.
I couldn't resist quoting one of the most bizarre examples in my reading updates, but in general it seems wrong to drop more spoilers. Instead, here are two examples from recent online games I've played. Can you see why my opponents should not have given up when they did?
Position 1. dani004-mannyrayner, Lichess, 2022
Black has just retreated his rook from a2 to a8. White thought he had to move his queen, after which I will capture on d1 and then on e3, leaving me a rook up. But...
Position 2. NadieJuegaAjedrez-mannyrayner, chess.com, 2022
I have just taken a knight on f3 with a bishop, White has recaptured with a rook, and I have taken on d4, checking and hitting the bishop on c4. White resigned because he thought he was losing a piece for nothing. But...
__________________
[Update, Dec 12 2022]
I have been experimenting with ChatGPT, and like many other people am amazed by its tendency to produce shameless bullshit. Here's an example inspired by this book. I asked the question "Tell me about some chess games where strong players have resigned in winning positions" and ChatGPT gave a long answer ending thus:
(...)This is wrong in a remarkable number of ways, including at least the following:
Another example of a player resigning in a winning position is the game between Grandmasters Boris Spassky and Tigran Petrosian at the Candidates tournament in 1965. In this game, Spassky was in a winning position with a rook and bishop against Petrosian's bishop and pawn. However, Petrosian was able to use his bishop to create a strong blockade on the board, effectively nullifying Spassky's advantage. Spassky, unable to find a way to break through Petrosian's defense, resigned even though he was still technically winning.
1. Tigran Petrosian didn't play in the Candidates tournament in 1965.
2. In fact he couldn't have played there because he was World Champion at the time. The Candidates tournament selects the player who will challenge the World Champion.
3. After considerable searching, I am pretty sure that Spassky never resigned a winning position against Petrosian.
4. If a top grandmaster ended up in a technically winning position where they had a rook and bishop against a bishop and pawn, but could not see how to break through (already highly implausible), it is inconceivable that they would resign. At the very most, they might offer a draw.
I asked ChatGPT about (1) and (2). It admitted that Petrosian couldn't have played in the Candidates tournament, apologised, and said that the game had actually taken place in the 1966 World Championship match instead. When I asked which game, and said I had just looked at all the games and that no such game existed, it went into a defensive huddle and started telling me that maybe its training data had been incorrect or out of date.
It is of course extraordinary that one can have such a conversation with a machine. But right now, I feel that ChatGPT's most promising career choice might be to go into politics. It seems to have many of the key skills.
__________________
[Update, Mar 21 2023]
I thought I would try this example on the new GPT-4 based version of ChatGPT, which is better on, as we've now learned to say, facticity. Alas, here's what happens:
mannyrayner: Can you give me any examples of chess games between strong players where someone has mistakenly resigned in a position that in actual fact was winning for them with best play?
ChatGPT-4: While it's rare for strong players to mistakenly resign in a winning position, it has happened on occasion. One example is the game between Grandmasters Akiba Rubinstein and Gersz Salwe, played in Lodz in 1908.
d4 d5 2. Nf3 c5 3. c4 e6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. g3 Nc6 7. Bg2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 9. Nb3 Bb6 10. O-O d4 11. Na4 O-O 12. Bg5 Re8 13. Re1 h6 14. Nxb6 axb6 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Qxd4 Qxd4 18. Nxd4 c5 19. Nb5 Ba6 20. Nc7 Bxe2 21. Nxa8 Rxa8 22. Rxe2
At this point, Salwe, playing Black, mistakenly believed that his position was hopeless and resigned. However, with the best play, he could have continued with 22...Rxa2, followed by 23...Rxb2. Black's active rook and White's weak pawns on the queenside would have given Black reasonable chances for a win.
Keep in mind that even strong players can make errors in evaluating positions, and this case serves as a reminder to carefully consider the position before deciding to resign.
mannyrayner: I just looked up the game Rubinstein - Salwe, Lodz 1908. I find it in several places on the web, but the moves are different and I do not see Salwe resigning in a good position.
ChatGPT-4: I apologize for the confusion in my previous response. It appears that I made an error in providing the game details. After further research, I couldn't find a suitable example of a strong player mistakenly resigning in a winning position. Such occurrences are extremely rare, especially among top players who typically have a deep understanding of the game and a strong ability to assess positions.
If you are still interested in finding examples of surprising resignations, you may want to look into games where a player resigned in a drawn or unclear position. These situations tend to be more common than resigning in a winning position, as even strong players can sometimes misjudge the potential resources available to them.
mannyrayner: In fact, I was asking because a grandmaster friend recently published a book of positions where strong players have mistakenly resigned in positions that were not lost for them. In some cases they were winning. It is as you say very rare, but I was curious to see if you were able to find examples.
ChatGPT-4: I apologize for any confusion or inaccuracies in my previous responses. It's great to know that there is a book specifically focused on this topic. I don't have access to that book, but I can provide you with a famous example of a strong player resigning in a drawn position.
Game: Anatoly Karpov (White) vs. Garry Kasparov (Black)
World Championship Match, Moscow, 1987 - Game 23
d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qc2 Bb7 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 Ne4 8. Qc2 f5 9. e3 O-O 10. Be2 d6 11. O-O Nd7 12. b4 a5 13. b5 Qe7 14. Bb2 Rf6 15. d5 e5 16. Nd2 Ndc5 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 18. f3 Nc5 19. f4 exf4 20. Bxf6 Qxe3+ 21. Kh1 gxf6 22. Rf3 Qe4 23. Qd2 Nb3 24. Qe1 Nd4 25. Bd3 Qxe1+ 26. Rxe1 Nxf3 27. gxf3 Bc8 28. Re7 Ra7 29. Re8+ Kf7 30. Rxc8 Kg6 31. Kg2 Kh6 32. Kf2 Kg7 33. Bxf5 h6 34. Be6 Kg6 35. Rg8+ Kh7 36. Rf8
In this position, Karpov (White) is objectively not better, but the position is still complex and drawn. However, Kasparov (Black) resigned in this position, likely due to exhaustion and psychological pressure during the World Championship match.
While this is not an example of a player resigning in a winning position, it does show how even the best players in the world can sometimes resign in positions that are not lost.
mannyrayner: But the 1987 Kasparov - Karpov match was in Seville.
ChatGPT-4: You are correct, and I apologize for the mistake. The 1987 World Chess Championship match between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov took place in Seville, Spain, not Moscow. Thank you for pointing out the error. The game and move details provided in my previous response are accurate, though, and the resignation occurred in Game 23 of that match.
And so on. The final response is also hallucinated, and the conversation is clearly going nowhere.
As pointed out by the authors of the GPT-4 System Card, improved facticity doesn't necessarily mean the system is better. This is a good example. The games look rather more plausible, so I was at first glance more inclined to believe what Chat said. But since it's still hallucinating everything, this actually makes the problem worse.
Want to read
March 21, 2023Oops! I Resigned Again!, Ian Rogers, 2021
In /Logical Chess: Move by Move/, Irving Chernev (1900-1981), 1957, Game 1, von Scheve - Teichmann, Berlin 1907, White resigned on move 18, in an equal position: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In /Logical Chess: Move by Move/, Irving Chernev (1900-1981), 1957, Game 1, von Scheve - Teichmann, Berlin 1907, White resigned on move 18, in an equal position: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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