FIDE rules seem to say that I have to claim draw (3-repetition and 50-move) before I actually touch/move my piece. And if I move my piece first, and then claim the draw, it doesn't count.
1) Is this really what FIDE is saying?
2) If so, why??? It's the (seeming) inconsistency which confuses me.
Why not either:
a) I cannot claim draw before I move, nor can I claim draw after I move
a) I am able to claim draw before I move, and I am able to claim draw after I move (but before I hit my clock)
Here's the sentence from the rules:
If the player touches a piece as in Article 4.3 without having claimed the draw he loses the right to claim, as in Article 9.2 or 9.3, on that move.
Here is more context:
9.2
The game is drawn upon a correct claim by the player having the move, when
the same position, for at least the third time (not necessarily by a
repetition of moves):
a. is about to appear, if he first writes his move on his scoresheet and
declares to the arbiter his intention to make this move, or
b. has just appeared, and the player claiming the draw has the move.
Positions as in (a) and (b) are considered the same, if the same player has
the move, pieces of the same kind and colour occupy the same squares, and
the possible moves of all the pieces of both players are the same.
Positions are not the same if a pawn that could have been captured en
passant can no longer be captured in this manner. When a king or a rook is
forced to move, it will lose its castling rights, if any, only after it is
moved.
9.3
The game is drawn, upon a correct claim by the player having the move, if:
a. he writes his move on his scoresheet and declares to the arbiter his
intention to make this move, which shall result in the last 50 moves
having been made by each player without the movement of any pawn and
without any capture, or
b. the last 50 consecutive moves have been made by each player without
the movement of any pawn and without any capture.
9.4
If the player touches a piece as in Article 4.3 without having claimed the
draw he loses the right to claim, as in Article 9.2 or 9.3, on that move.