Answers.Body: <p>Your question essentially reduces to asking whether resignation is considered a move or not. To be exact, you are asking about <em>legal</em> moves, the topic of which is addressed in (and defined by) Article 3 of the <a href="https://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=171&amp;view=article" rel="noreferrer">Laws of Chess</a>. Resignation isn't mentioned there, so it's not a move.</p>
  
  <p>A heuristic argument: you are allowed to make a move and then resign immediately, i.e. if resignation was a move, you have effectively made two consecutive moves, which is not allowed.</p>
  
  <p>Or more simply: since you can resign even when it's not your move, it follows that resignation is not considered a move.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-01-02T08:03:27.523Z
Answers.Text: I like this proof by contradiction approach :)
Answers.UserDisplayName: Inertial Ignorance
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2017-09-28T01:09:11.220Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2017-09-28T01:09:11.220Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Ken Wei
Answers.Body: <p>According to the FIDE <a href="https://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=197&amp;view=article" rel="noreferrer">rating regulations</a> -</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <ol start="5">
    <li><p>Unplayed Games</p>
    
    <p>5.1 Whether these occur because of forfeiture or any other reason, they are not counted. Any game where both players have made at least
    one move will be rated.</p></li>
    </ol>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>It looks like "resigns" is not a move. Games will only be rated if each side has moved at least one piece.</p>
  
  <p>I believe this regulation was introduced after an incident in the last round of a big weekend tournament in England in the mid 1970's. Tony Miles was leading the competition and only needed a draw in the last round to guarantee sole first place. He met his opponent, Stewart Reuben, in the bar the night before and agreed a draw. The next day they played no moves and simply wrote on their scoresheets "draw agreed". Tony Miles won first place and Stewart Reuben shared second with several other players. They were given their prize money and everybody was happy until somebody noticed they had played no moves. Then the organizer was unhappy. The result between Miles and Reuben was cancelled and they were required to repay their prize money. Now this practice is explicitly banned.</p>
  
  <p>If you look in the <a href="https://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=171&amp;view=article" rel="noreferrer">FIDE Laws of Chess</a> you see that the full title of article 3 is -</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>Article 3: The moves of the pieces</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>From this you can also see that in chess moves are moves of pieces. "Resigns" is not a move of a piece and is therefore not a move.</p>
  
  <p>So, the correct answer is 20. </p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2017-09-28T08:48:55.100Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2017-09-28T08:48:55.100Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Brian Towers
Answers.Body: <p>I can see that you are referring to standard chess and not Chess960 :)</p>
  <p>In 960 however, it can even be 21 for <a href="https://chess.stackexchange.com/a/25263">certain positions</a> where you can castle on the first move itself.</p>
  <p><a href="https://lichess.org/analysis/chess960/rbnnbkrq/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RBNNBKRQ_w_KQkq_-_0_1#1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://lichess.org/analysis/chess960/rbnnbkrq/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RBNNBKRQ_w_KQkq_-_0_1#1</a></p>
  <pre><code>[Variant &quot;Chess960&quot;]
  [FEN &quot;rbnnbkrq/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RBNNBKRQ w KQkq - 0 1&quot;]
  
  1. O-O (1. a3) (1. b3) (1. c3) (1. d3) (1. e3) (1. f3) (1. g3) (1. h3) (1. a4) (1. b4) (1. c4) (1. d4) (1. e4) (1. f4) (1. g4) (1. h4) (1. Nb3) (1. Nd3) (1. Nc3) (1. Ne3)
  
  </code></pre>
  <p><strong>EDIT</strong>
  for some reason replayer breaks when I castle on first move here. lichess works tho</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-08-12T14:42:41.273Z
Answers.Text: Haha cool. Chess960 can also offer positions with 18 or 19 initial moves
Answers.UserDisplayName: Laska
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-08-12T14:43:22.663Z
Answers.Text: true with the knights in the corners :)
Answers.UserDisplayName: cmgchess
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-08-12T18:43:45.873Z
Answers.Text: The replayer only support regular chess
Answers.UserDisplayName: Rewan Demontay
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-08-12T14:32:11.773Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2023-08-12T14:37:58.560Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2023-08-12T14:37:58.560Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: cmgchess
Answers.Body: <p>Resigning is stating you do not want to make another move.
  A draw is recognition that you can not make another move,
  either way they are both situations where no move is made.</p>
  <p>If either of this situations were considered moves, then it would follow both logically yet absurdly that deciding who plays what color is a move! and simply setting up the board would be a move!</p>
  <p>So while resigning, offering a draw, picking a color and/or setting up the
  board are all part of a chess game they are not chess moves!</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2022-12-31T01:52:11.857Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2022-12-31T01:52:11.857Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: paul montgomery
Body: <p>Each pawn, of which there are 8 white, can move 1 or 2 squares forward.
  Each knight, of which there are 2 white can move forward and left or forward and right.</p>
  
  <p>That gives 20.</p>
  
  <p>But white can also resign, and in some tournament situations this might be sensible.</p>
  
  <p>But is resignation a move?</p>
  
  <p>I sometimes attend quiz nights and this is a common question, and the answer is always said to be 20. I,  however, always say it is really 21 because of the resignation option. But, is resignation actually a move?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-09-28T07:10:59.167Z
Comments.Text: You can also resign when it is not your move.
Comments.UserDisplayName: RemcoGerlich
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-01-04T11:00:05.937Z
Comments.Text: If resignation is considered a move, surely the answer is 22 as offering a draw also is.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Comic Sans Seraphim
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-08-12T14:44:21.957Z
Comments.Text: Legal moves are listed, and they involve shifting a piece or two
Comments.UserDisplayName: Laska
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-08-12T20:57:22.690Z
Comments.Text: @RemcoGerlich, when two players resign simultaneously, is the game a draw?
Comments.UserDisplayName: Zuriel
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-08-16T19:40:27.940Z
Comments.Text: @ComicSansStrikephim: No, resignation ends the game but offering a draw does not. You might insist that _accepting_ a draw offer constitutes a move, but I wouldn't agree to that either.
Comments.UserDisplayName: TonyK
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-08-23T15:48:45.513Z
Comments.Text: @Zuriel: no, whoever was first to say it will have resigned. It'll be up to the arbiter to decide who that was.
Comments.UserDisplayName: RemcoGerlich
Tags: <opening>
Title: How many initial moves are possible in Chess, 20 or 21?
ThreadText: # How many initial moves are possible in Chess, 20 or 21?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2017-09-27)
  
  Each pawn, of which there are 8 white, can move 1 or 2 squares forward.
  Each knight, of which there are 2 white can move forward and left or forward and right.
  
  That gives 20.
  
  But white can also resign, and in some tournament situations this might be sensible.
  
  But is resignation a move?
  
  I sometimes attend quiz nights and this is a common question, and the answer is always said to be 20. I, however, always say it is really 21 because of the resignation option. But, is resignation actually a move?
  
  **Tags:** opening
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: You can also resign when it is not your move.  
  > **username_2**: If resignation is considered a move, surely the answer is 22 as offering a draw also is.  
  > **username_3**: Legal moves are listed, and they involve shifting a piece or two  
  > **username_4**: @username_1, when two players resign simultaneously, is the game a draw?  
  > **username_5**: @ComicSansStrikephim: No, resignation ends the game but offering a draw does not. You might insist that _accepting_ a draw offer constitutes a move, but I wouldn't agree to that either.  
  > **username_1**: @username_4: no, whoever was first to say it will have resigned. It'll be up to the arbiter to decide who that was.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 4 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_6 on 2017-09-28. Score: 12
  
  Your question essentially reduces to asking whether resignation is considered a move or not. To be exact, you are asking about *legal* moves, the topic of which is addressed in (and defined by) Article 3 of the [Laws of Chess](https://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=171&view=article). Resignation isn't mentioned there, so it's not a move.
  
  A heuristic argument: you are allowed to make a move and then resign immediately, i.e. if resignation was a move, you have effectively made two consecutive moves, which is not allowed.
  
  Or more simply: since you can resign even when it's not your move, it follows that resignation is not considered a move.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_7**: I like this proof by contradiction approach :)  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_8 on 2017-09-28. Score: 5
  
  According to the FIDE [rating regulations](https://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=197&view=article) -
  
  > 5. Unplayed Games
  >
  >    5.1 Whether these occur because of forfeiture or any other reason, they are not counted. Any game where both players have made at least
  >    one move will be rated.
  
  It looks like "resigns" is not a move. Games will only be rated if each side has moved at least one piece.
  
  I believe this regulation was introduced after an incident in the last round of a big weekend tournament in England in the mid 1970's. Tony Miles was leading the competition and only needed a draw in the last round to guarantee sole first place. He met his opponent, Stewart Reuben, in the bar the night before and agreed a draw. The next day they played no moves and simply wrote on their scoresheets "draw agreed". Tony Miles won first place and Stewart Reuben shared second with several other players. They were given their prize money and everybody was happy until somebody noticed they had played no moves. Then the organizer was unhappy. The result between Miles and Reuben was cancelled and they were required to repay their prize money. Now this practice is explicitly banned.
  
  If you look in the [FIDE Laws of Chess](https://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=171&view=article) you see that the full title of article 3 is -
  
  > Article 3: The moves of the pieces
  
  From this you can also see that in chess moves are moves of pieces. "Resigns" is not a move of a piece and is therefore not a move.
  
  So, the correct answer is 20.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_9 on 2023-08-12. Score: 1
  
  I can see that you are referring to standard chess and not Chess960 :)
  
  In 960 however, it can even be 21 for [certain positions](https://chess.stackexchange.com/a/25263) where you can castle on the first move itself.
  
  <https://lichess.org/analysis/chess960/rbnnbkrq/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RBNNBKRQ_w_KQkq_-_0_1#1>
  
  ```
  [Variant "Chess960"]
  [FEN "rbnnbkrq/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RBNNBKRQ w KQkq - 0 1"]
  
  1. O-O (1. a3) (1. b3) (1. c3) (1. d3) (1. e3) (1. f3) (1. g3) (1. h3) (1. a4) (1. b4) (1. c4) (1. d4) (1. e4) (1. f4) (1. g4) (1. h4) (1. Nb3) (1. Nd3) (1. Nc3) (1. Ne3)
  
  ```
  
  **EDIT**
  for some reason replayer breaks when I castle on first move here. lichess works tho
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_3**: Haha cool. Chess960 can also offer positions with 18 or 19 initial moves  
  > **username_9**: true with the knights in the corners :)  
  > **username_10**: The replayer only support regular chess  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_11 on 2022-12-31. Score: 0
  
  Resigning is stating you do not want to make another move.
  A draw is recognition that you can not make another move,
  either way they are both situations where no move is made.
  
  If either of this situations were considered moves, then it would follow both logically yet absurdly that deciding who plays what color is a move! and simply setting up the board would be a move!
  
  So while resigning, offering a draw, picking a color and/or setting up the
  board are all part of a chess game they are not chess moves!
  
  
  ---
  
  