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I have played some rapid and blitz games in my city, it was not a tournament, but a friendly match, but there's something that bother me almost always that I've played:

I move my piece and as my hand is still in the air moving towards the clock, and even I have not hit it yet, my opponent has already moved a piece. Is it legal?

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    sorry for my bad english, i'm not a native speaker.
    – Kevin Hernández Arango
    Sep 23, 2017 at 17:29
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    Your English is great! Don't worry about it.
    – David Richerby
    Sep 23, 2017 at 17:31

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Yes, it is.

Let's take a closer look: Article 1.1 of the FIDE rules states:

A player is said to ‘have the move’ when his opponent’s move has been ‘made’.

Article 4 clarifies how a move is supposed to be made. Specifically:

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.

At that point a move has been "made".

Note, however, the provision in article 6.2:

A player must be allowed to stop his clock after making his move, even after the opponent has made his next move.

Even if your opponent already moved, you still have the right to press your clock.

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    Since it's the rule, it's the rule. But it is extremely strange to me. It seems better (less room for contention) if each player's turn begins exactly when the opponent presses the clock. Otherwise what if I move while the opponent's hand hasn't reached the clock and then press the clock earlier?
    – user21820
    Sep 23, 2017 at 14:16
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    @user21820 in fast play that would disturb the flow of the play significantly. In some situations it would cause artificial delay and one would have to check if the opponent has pressed the clock already. Moreover, arguably it might remove room for contention at one point yet it would open it up at a different point. Namely there the could be contention if the new move was started too early.
    – quid
    Sep 23, 2017 at 17:13
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    @user21820 Sure, but this isn't the place to discuss what we think the rules of chess should be.
    – David Richerby
    Sep 23, 2017 at 17:29

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