Realizing the hopeless nature of a position and not wanting to insult the intelligence of the opponent, a player can surrender the game (resign) without having to wait for a checkmate. Resignation occurs in the vast majority of tournament games, while actual checkmates are quite rare.

A player may RESIGN at any time during a game if he thinks his position is hopeless and he is sure to lose.

To give up the game and concede defeat before getting checkmated. Not to be confused with ' forfeit'.