Is there a substitute for this strategy that still uses the
scoresheet, but is legal under Fide rules?
According to 12.3a FIDE:
12.3a During play the players are forbidden to make use of any notes, sources of
information or advice, or analyse on another chessboard.
Therefore, if any performed action is considered as making use of notes, it is a violation. This is confirmed by
12.4 The scoresheet shall be used only for recording the moves, the times of the clocks, the offers of a draw, and matters relating to a claim and other relevant data.
and the rule that you are probably referring to
8.1 ...
It is forbidden to write the moves in advance, unless the player is claiming a draw according to Article 9.2, or 9.3 or adjourning a game according to the Guidelines of Adjourned Games point 1.a.
...
While there are many advices that can be given to substitute the scoresheet (visualization, writing mentally, etc), the current FIDE rules limit you severely.
So, can you come up with a substitute strategy? Definitely.
Consider algebraic notation. Ideally, you want to encode:
- the piece that moves:
K
,Q
,B
,N
,pawn
- destination file:
a
,b
,c
,d
,e
,f
,g
,h
- destination rank:
1
,2
,3
,4
,5
,6
,7
,8
O-O
, O-O-O
- sometimes, origin file/rank in case of ambiguity
- optionally, capture, check, mate,
e.p.
For the purpose of blunder checking, one can certainly sacrifice optional symbols, consider the frequency of the notation with the origin file/rank (ex., N2e4
) to be negligible. By using only pen and the scoresheet, you can easily specify the destination:

With enough practice, positioning the pen and the scoresheet according to the map identical to writing b4
on the scoresheet.
You can encode the moving piece (king, queen, bishop, knight) by, say, buttoning and unbuttoning your suit, using a third object on the table, and many other ways.
This approach is very similar to writing the notation in your mind, rather than on the scoresheet, but it uses the physical objects.
Disclosure: I do not use this approach.