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In classical play, do GMs tend to resign in endgames like king+queen vs king+rook where the game can be won by the side with more material in under 50 moves, but only with good play? (I understand queen vs rook is a win in 31 in worst case, barring any immediate captures/checks which make it a draw. A computer can likely draw it out to 50 moves against a human, but another human might not.)

Queen vs rook isn't the only example - think of any pawnless endgame where the fastest forced mate is between 20 and 50 moves long.

On one hand I could see that it might be insulting to continue to play on with such a difference in material, where your opponent will clearly not fall for any skewer tactics and the endgame will be very long and very boring, but on the other hand I see the pragmatism in continuing play as long as there is a non-trivial chance of a draw.

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  • If there are tricks, they will play. Just like RB vs R endgames are a draw, but actually very often end unpeacefully. Q vs R most also will try. The worst that can happen happens immediately if you resign.
    – B.Swan
    Aug 20, 2020 at 19:34
  • They will fight while there's hope. If they know a computer can defend it against a human, they will also try themselves
    – David
    Aug 20, 2020 at 22:01

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They may as well try, since Q vs R is extremely difficult to win (even disregarding skewer tactics). The example of RB vs R is a great similar example, as it is a theoretical draw, but extraordinarily difficult to draw. There are numerous examples of top grandmasters being unable to convert Q vs R. As to a computer vs human- this was tested in 1978 in a special match between Belle (computer program, had the tablebase so it would play perfectly), and GM Walter Browne. Two positions were played, both with a win in 31 moves. He was unable to convert one but won the other (although barely avoiding the 50 move rule)

Example 1 - Gelfand-Svidler (two of the greatest players of their time, admittedly a rapid game. Black was pushing but Gelfand held.)

Example 2 - Morozevich-Jakovenko (Morozevich was a great player, but Jakovenko not so much. Morozevich was pushing, but Jakovenko held with what is known as a rambling rook idea, where a rook is sacrificed and keeps checking so either perpetual check occurs, or the king takes the rook leading to stalemate)

To add more to this- it's quite possible that the side with the queen is in time trouble, which heightens the difficulty of breaking through.

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    Note that the tablebase is playing the move that resists the most, not the move that makes it the hardest, so in practice it could even be more difficult
    – David
    Aug 20, 2020 at 22:02
  • Eh, id argue that often they'd be the same, but I can certainly see the possibility. To make it clear as what you mean by hardest and resists: A tablebase will play the move, that assuming perfect play from both sides, will lead to mate (or conversion into a winning endgame, in this case, winning the rook) in the most (or least, if it's pressing) number of moves. Making it hardest for a human player is subtly different from this.
    – pulsar512b
    Aug 27, 2020 at 14:59

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