Hollow Victories · 21 March 2026
There might not be any moral victories in chess, but there are plenty of hollow victories.
I have posted a few pieces on chess on this blog. Most recently, I posted about no moral victories. And as I was posting that particular piece, I realized that there are certainly many hollow victories. You know. Those victories that give you no pleasure. Those victories that give you no satisfaction. (Oops. Now, I am hearing the Rolling Stones. I can’t get no…) No no no.
At any rate.
There really are many ways in chess to get no satisfaction from a win. To get a hollow victory. The worst hollow victory is when somebody abandons the game. Especially after just a move. Or even worse, before the first move. It is a pain. Oh sure, your rating might go up, but where is the satisfaction in that? A couple rating points for no moves. And thirty or forty seconds of waiting. Really?
I just cannot imagine people walking away from a game. Think about it. You sit down to enjoy a quick game of chess. Just a couple minutes, and then before you make the first move, you stand up and walk away. Crazy. But that is what people do. They start a game, decide before the first move that they did not really want to play you, then, they just walk away. Without a word.
I know. It is just online chess. People do not really sit down across from you. They do not look you in the eye and decide that they do not want to play you. They do not have that opportunity. But they see your picture or avatar or a default silhouette. They see your ranking. Then they leave the game. Crazy.
It seems to me that if people are going to accept games, that they ought to have the courtesy of getting creamed when they think they are going to lose.
While I really think those first move or before the first move abandonments are bad, I think the games when the person knows he or she is going to lose are just as bad. I think that they ought to at least lay down their kings. What is it with these people? Have they never heard of the resign button? C’mon people. Either sit there and take the loss or resign. It is not that tough.
Okay. It sounds like I am ranting there. And maybe I am. But not really. In reality, I would just like to cajole people into sticking around and take their losses. It is not that bad. (I ought to know. I have lost so many.) And it gives their opponents a little bit of satisfaction.
Which is where I started. There might be no moral victories in chess, but there are surely many ways to win hollow victories. Oh so many ways to get no satisfaction. No. No. No.
Yes, I hate those hollow victories.
© 2026 Michael T. Miyoshi
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