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Can I move a piece somewhere else if I left it but didn't press the clock?

Suppose I touch my queen and then move my queen, keeping it on a square, and take my hand off. Then, before I press the clock, I realize that it's a wrong move. Thus, I move the queen to a different square and then press the clock. Is this allowed, or do I have to play the queen on the first square (if my opponent calls the arbiter)?

I am getting conflicting answers. An official answer would be appreciated.

Rewan Demontay
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Vivaan Daga
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4 Answers4

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When I first started playing competitive chess 50 years ago what you describe was standard practice in blitz but not allowed in standard time control chess. Nowadays it is not allowed at all except in the case that moving the piece was not legal, for instance because it left your king in check or placed your king in check.

According to the current FIDE Laws of Chess:

4.7 When, as a legal move or part of a legal move, a piece has been released on a square, it cannot be moved to another square on this move.

Legal and illegal moves are defined so:

3.10.1 A move is legal when all the relevant requirements of Articles 3.1 – 3.9 have been fulfilled.
3.10.2 A move is illegal when it fails to meet the relevant requirements of Articles 3.1 – 3.9

There are two cases when the requirement for the move to be legal would allow you to take the move back, indeed require you to do so.

The first is if your king ended up being in check after your move:

3.9.2 No piece can be moved that will either expose the king of the same colour to check or leave that king in check.

The second is if you move a piece in a way it is not allowed to. You can take the move back if, in your example, you moved your queen to a square it is not allowed to move to, for instance you moved the queen like a knight:

3.4 The queen may move to any square along the file, the rank or a diagonal on which it stands.

Legal queen moves

Community
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Brian Towers
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    I wonder why they only give illegal move after pressing the clock, moving the queen like a knight multiple times can be used to distract the opponent..., what if the queen starts moving like a knight and starts caputuring all the pieces ...., and then resets and then plays a legal move .....? – Vivaan Daga Jan 16 '22 at 14:47
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    Curious. I'm not a chess player, so the 4.7 rule seems odd to me. Why was it implemented? I mean, as long as you haven't turned off the clock (and thus finished your turn), who cares what you are doing on the board? As long as the end state is valid, what does ir matter if you changed your mind a couple of times? – Vilx- Jan 17 '22 at 06:30
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    @Vilx: What you would be doing then is effectively analyzing one half-move. This isn't much, but I'd spot 90% of my blunders immediately. And analyzing a running game is a strict no-no. (Also, again 11.5, do not distract your opponent.) – Hauke Reddmann Jan 17 '22 at 09:07
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    @Vilx-, it's really, really, distracting and annoying for the opponent. My experiences on this are mostly in go, but played with people who more than once took a stone out, moved it to the board, but didn't let before thinking about it for several seconds. (The same is moving a chess piece and not letting go.) Especially when the move they "made" was one I expected and had a reply ready, I automatically started to make my own move when seeing theirs... only to be frustrated that they didn't actually make the move after all. (In one case, they stopped that when I did the same...) – ilkkachu Jan 17 '22 at 09:31
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    @Vilx- The same question could be asked about the touch-move rule to begin with ("as long as I do it on my time, who cares?"). The underlying principle is apparently that the state of the board should not be disturbed except by actually moving, and that all analysis is mental. In backgammon this rule does not exist and people shuffle their pieces around all the time in order to assess a possible move. Messing with pieces introduces an opportunity to cheat which actually may have some relevance in fast games. You see it occasionally in YouTube videos when hustlers are called out by GMs. – Peter - Reinstate Monica Jan 17 '22 at 13:34
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    @Peter: The other problem is that you can look at your opponent's facial reactions when you touch your queen (or any other piece) to see whether they think you are about to blunder. But chess is supposed to be chess, not poker, so the touch move rule prevents you from taking advantage of such information. – Kevin Jan 17 '22 at 20:13
  • @Kevin Backgammon is more like Poker ;-). – Peter - Reinstate Monica Jan 17 '22 at 21:14
  • @Brian Towers I really wonder what would happen if someone really does what I described in the second part of the first comment, (Maybe they will set the pieces back incorrectly intentionally, and the player may not realise!!) . – Vivaan Daga Jan 18 '22 at 14:35
  • @Logic This arbiter would be torn between defaulting you (you lose the game, your opponent wins) and throwing you out of the tournament altogether. I would probably consult with the tournament organizer before making my decision. Such behaviour is completely unacceptable. – Brian Towers Jan 18 '22 at 15:05
  • What law permits the arbiter to do that technically I have not made any Illegal moves…? – Vivaan Daga Jan 18 '22 at 15:07
  • @Logic Check out article 11 of the FIDE Laws of Chess. It lists all the things you may not do as a player. There are many more things than just illegal moves. Article 11.1 is a catch all clause that allows the arbiter to punish you for any bad behaviour. For instance, if you punched your opponent in the nose you would just be thrown out immediately under 11.1 – Brian Towers Jan 18 '22 at 15:15
  • I see thanks a lot! – Vivaan Daga Jan 18 '22 at 15:18
5

No, you may not move that piece to another square even if you have not yet pressed your clock.

From the FIDE Laws, art. 4.7.:

When, as a legal move or part of a legal move, a piece has been released on a square, it cannot be moved to another square on this move.

(Art. 4.7 continues with further laws regarding captures, castling and promotion.)

Rosie F
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5

You didn't ask, but note "legal" in the answers: if you made an illegal move, and did not press the clock, you may and must change it, and usually (modulo §E11.5, "Do not distract your opponent in any way!") get scot-free. In German even the part on the board ("Zug ausgeführt") and on the clock ("Zug abgeschlossen") have different names in the FIDE rules to easily distinguish these actions (I didn't memorize the English names).

Hauke Reddmann
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    In English the difference is between a move being "made" (let go of the piece) and "completed" (pressed the clock). – RemcoGerlich Jan 16 '22 at 15:53
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It is not allowed to change your move: https://www.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/LawsOfChess.pdf

"When, as a legal move or part of a legal move, a piece has been released on a square, it cannot be moved to another square on this move."

koedem
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