user13019: Is there a method to determine whether or not a player should continue playing, or resign?
I would currently consider myself a beginner at chess. So when for example I make a bad decision and lose a lot of material early, I will be naturally deflated from the loss and be tempted to resign.

user11629: I don't think there is a universal method to determine whether you should resign. Many factors could affect your decision
First of all, if you are just playing a practice match for fun, you might want to resign earlier (assuming you have a lost position) instead of fighting till the bitter end. On the other hand, for a beginner player you can learn how to convert an advantage if you do not resign.
In a tournament however the situation is different and even if you have a theoretically lost position you might not want to resign immediately for any of the following reasons:

if your opponent is short on time
if the position is sufficiently rich (complicated with e.g. many pieces on the board); giving you swindle chances and your opponent options to screw up
if you think that your opponent is too weak to reliably convert his advantage in a normal position (playing a beginner you might still want to continue with a queen down or so, while playing a GM in most cases they will squeeze out a win if you are down say two pawns or so)
if you are playing in a team and your loss would help your opponents to adapt their strategy: for example, knowing that they have a point for sure on your board they could go for draws on other boards in some situations

Whatever you do avoid playing out until the end, completely lost/easily won positions against reasonably strong opponents.

user4532: It depends on your level. At the beginner level, most people recommend not resigning and instead playing until there is either checkmate or a stalemate. If you're a beginner playing against other beginners, blunders are so common that even being a queen behind doesn't guarantee losing.
Once you get past the beginner level, an easy way is to ask yourself if you know how you would force a win if you had the other side's pieces. If you do, then you would consider resigning.

13019: <p>Is there a method to determine whether or not a player should continue playing, or resign?</p>

<p>I would currently consider myself a beginner at chess. So when for example I make a bad decision and lose a lot of material early, I will be naturally deflated from the loss and be tempted to resign.</p>
 11629: <p>I don't think there is a universal method to determine whether you should resign. Many factors could affect your decision</p>

<p>First of all, if you are just playing a practice match for fun, you might want to resign earlier (assuming you have a lost position) instead of fighting till the bitter end. On the other hand, for a beginner player you can learn how to convert an advantage if you do not resign.</p>

<p>In a tournament however the situation is different and even if you have a theoretically lost position you might not want to resign immediately for any of the following reasons:</p>

<ul>
<li>if your opponent is <strong>short on time</strong></li>
<li>if the <strong>position is sufficiently rich</strong> (complicated with e.g. many pieces on the board); giving you swindle chances and your opponent options to screw up</li>
<li>if you think that your <strong>opponent is too weak</strong> to reliably convert his advantage in a normal position (playing a beginner you might still want to continue with a queen down or so, while playing a GM in most cases they will squeeze out a win if you are down say two pawns or so)</li>
<li>if you are <strong>playing in a team</strong> and your loss would help your opponents to adapt their strategy: for example, knowing that they have a point for sure on your board they could go for draws on other boards in some situations</li>
</ul>

<p>Whatever you do avoid playing out until the end, completely lost/easily won positions against reasonably strong opponents.</p>
 4532: <p>It depends on your level. At the beginner level, most people recommend not resigning and instead playing until there is either checkmate or a stalemate. If you're a beginner playing against other beginners, blunders are so common that even being a queen behind doesn't guarantee losing.</p>

<p>Once you get past the beginner level, an easy way is to ask yourself if you know how you would force a win if you had the other side's pieces. If you do, then you would consider resigning.</p>
