H. G. Muller wrote on Sat, Jul 15, 2017 05:12 AM UTC:
Note that even if you would impose some 'off-board sanction' on abandoning a game when not in check, such as deduction of points rather than a zero, or even forfeit from the entire tourney, you can still not force people to play in a meaningful way. They would start to move randomly, or march their King to the center where the opponent can hardly avoid to check it. There would not be any fun in a game where players are coerced to continue against their wishes, neither for the player that wants to abandon it, nor for his opponent.
Note that even if you would impose some 'off-board sanction' on abandoning a game when not in check, such as deduction of points rather than a zero, or even forfeit from the entire tourney, you can still not force people to play in a meaningful way. They would start to move randomly, or march their King to the center where the opponent can hardly avoid to check it. There would not be any fun in a game where players are coerced to continue against their wishes, neither for the player that wants to abandon it, nor for his opponent.