Questions tagged [rules]
Questions relating to the rules of chess
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USCF: Should the arbiter correct illegal moves without a player claim?
Should an USCF arbiter correct illegal moves without a player claim?
Here is the USCF link: USCF rules of chess
Here is the FIDE link: FIDE rules of chess
USCF and FIDE rules are NOT 100% equal.
What ...
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If players are not writing their moves, can they claim a draw using the threefold repetition rule in an USCF or FIDE 30+0 chess tournament?
It is my understanding that the USCF expresses that if a player has less than 5 minutes in a 30+0 game, neither the player nor his/her opponent have the obligation to continue with chess notation.
If ...
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Is this an incorrect draw by chess.com?
Is this an incorrect draw by chess.com?
I just played a game on chess.com with the final position as below (I am black):
[FEN "8/8/2b5/7P/8/2k1N3/5PP1/6K1 w - - 0 59"]
My opponent's time ...
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When checkmate is impossible in a position
The laws of chess say
1.5. If the position is such that neither player can possibly checkmate the opponent’s king, the game is drawn (see Article 5.2.2).
5.2.2. The game is drawn when a position has ...
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What is "mating potential" in the FIDE Arbiter's Manual meant to mean?
While researching an answer for another SE.chess question (Has a position being a draw under FIDE 5.2.b before a forced recapture ever come up in a tournament?), I stumbled across the following issue.
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At the Candidates, are players allowed to discuss the tournament situation with each other?
As I write this question, Ian Nepomniachtchi is leading the ongoing Candidates tournament by a substantial margin. Since it's a winner-takes-all tournament, everyone else needs Nepomniachtchi to lose.
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Has a position being a draw under FIDE 5.2.b before a forced recapture ever come up in a tournament?
Tom7 points out that FIDE article 5.2.b reads:
The game is drawn when a position has arisen in which neither player can
checkmate the opponent’s king with any series of legal moves. The game is said ...
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Can a king capture a piece in front of the enemy king [duplicate]
Can I eat a piece in front of the enemy king with my king?
For example: My king was on b6, the enemy knight was on b5, and the enemy king was behind the knight on b4.
So can I capture the knight with ...
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Why does India get three teams for Open and Women's sections in the 2022 Chess Olympiad?
The 2022 Chess Olympiad is hosted in Chennai, India. Why does India get to field three teams while most nations get the usual one team per Open and Women's sections?
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What is the most number of repetitions in a GM game?
In July 2014 FIDE introduced new rules regarding draws. The arbiter was required to step in and declare the game drawn in cases where the players repeated the position 5 times:
9.6 If one or both of ...
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What games in a FIDE rated tournament does FIDE NOT rate?
In a recent FIDE rated tournament I officiated in one of the players complained to me afterwards that only 2 out of his 5 wins had been rated by FIDE. "What", he wanted to know, "was ...
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What happens when a world chess champion doesn't defend their title?
When a world chess champion like Carlsen decides not to defend the title, how does FIDE determine who the new champion will be? Is it just the winner of the Candidates tournament?
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Rules: Distracting the opponent using flashy clothes?
Yesterday, I was in a clothes shop and saw shirts that had wild patterns with screamingly bold colours.
The same day, I saw this picture from the Angolan Chess Olympiad team, whose shirts reminded me ...
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Arbiter's top work cause
Any solid data on which rule decision makes up the lion's share of arbiters work nowadays? (I neglect "Lookie, Flag!" because this is rather passive, and a player can claim it anyway. ...
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Are there any tri dimensional chess rules utilising traditional starting positions?
I have a tri dimensional chess game for my phone which let's the player select different rule sets to play by.
They all start with the king and queen on the attack boards which I find incredibly ...
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Korchnoi was an Orc? Enforcing FIDE rule §E8.1.1
Exhibit A
Note that §E8.1.1. says (...)as clearly and legibly as possible(...). My arbiter's estimation is that maybe around 5% of all players produce Orc runes. (My own handwriting is atrocious, but ...
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How would USCF handle a position, in which there is sufficient material, but checkmate can't be forced?
There are some positions, in which both players have pawns, rooks, and even queens, but checkmate cannot be forced.
[FEN "4k3/4r1r1/3p1p2/p1pPpPp1/PpP1P1Pp/1P5P/8/4K3 w - - 0 1"]
For ...
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What would happen if the same opening is played until an advanced stage in two games in a tournament? [duplicate]
I was watching this Firouzja interview by Belenkaya after the last round of the candidates and she asks him if he noticed the similarity between his game and Rapport-Radjabov at the opening.
Despite ...
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A double pin: does this count as check? [duplicate]
I was thinking about this position.
[FEN "4k3/8/4q3/8/8/8/8/2K1Q2r b - - 0 1"]
[startflipped ""]
Can the Black queen move to another file? If she moves then there is nothing ...
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3
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How did castling originate?
Castling to me has always seemed like such a huge leap in terms of game play that I've always wondered how it came to be.
Does anyone know the history behind how and why castling came to be?
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What are the different rules for claiming a draw?
According to the current FIDE rules of chess:
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 ...
- 94.5k
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What is the origin of the chess pieces' movements?
Why do pieces move the way they do? Was there any reason behind the decision in the early history of chess?
This Quora post for example mentions (no citations):
Queen can give directions. And she can ...
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1
answer
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Richard Rapport to switch federations to Romania - what are the rules?
Richard Rapport started his first game in the Candidates today still under the Hungarian flag despite reports a month ago that he and his Serbian wife were going to switch federations to Romania and ...
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What are the time rules in Candidate Tournament?
So I'm following the London Candidate Tournament and I'm a bit confused regarding the time and why some games are getting an extensions and some are not and you are eventually losing because of time.
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Countermove without notation
Quoting the FIDE rules (E8.1§3):
"A player may reply to his opponent’s move before recording it, if he so wishes. He must
record his previous move before making another."
Quoting any arbiter:...
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Why is it a draw after check from pawn promotion?
I've been playing against Stockfish, and sometimes I promote a pawn to a piece that immediately puts the opposing king (the only piece on the board) into check, but the computer says at that point ...
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Historic time controls for World Championships
According to the answer to this question we know that currently it is 100 minutes for 40 moves followed by an additional 50 minutes for 20 moves then an extra 15 minutes to finish the game with a 30 ...
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What do you do when an opponent asks for a score sheet after a game in which recording is not compulsory?
I wish to know how to handle a certain situation regarding chess etiquette. Consider the following:
I went for an OTB tournament recently - rapid 15 + 10 time control. Organizers stated that recording ...
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4
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When and why was the notation changed from descriptive to algebraic?
When I was young I used to play chess with the the old form of notation KB<number> (King Bishop square number), even books used to have the same notation, then later found that everyone was ...
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Is Beth Harmon behaviour in her game vs Georgi Girev acceptable (then and now)?
In S01E04 of the TV series The Queen's Gambit, the main protagonist (Beth Harmon) is competing against a young Russian player (Georgi Girev). This happens in 1966.
Beth Harmon is not spending any time ...
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Did white make an illegal move here?
Black legally moves a pawn to the 8th rank, intended to promote it to a queen without specifying what piece this pawn should be promoted to. White immediately captured the pawn with his piece (as it ...
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"Premoving" in blitz over the board [duplicate]
I'm myself a lightning-fast blitzer, but some (Ha. All.) have better dexterity than me. Some specialists make their move even before I could hit my own clock. This is especially annoying when Fischer ...
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Are score sheet booklets allowed to be in use?
Is it allowed to use a score sheet booklet for notations (with a recording of previous games), as opposed to a single "stand alone" sheet?
Reasons for not allowing this may, of course, be ...
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Should the arbiter stop players from spectating other players' games? [duplicate]
Suppose a player forgot the correct "book move" in a tournament. He/She looked at another game played by strong players in the same tournament and happened to find the same opening position. ...
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can players continue the game on mutual agreement in case of mobile ringing and arbiter noticing
In a situation where a mobile phone rings in the middle of the game should the offender's opponent call the arbiter and claim the win.
If claiming is not needed and if the arbiter decides to mark the ...
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1
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Is the number of legal chess positions odd or even?
Is the number of legal chess positions odd or even? Two positions are not the same if they differ in castling rights (i.e. whether K or R have actually moved) or en passant capability (i.e. whether ...
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Touch move rule when the opponent is not present on the board
According to the rules, if a player touches a piece, he/she has to move that piece (if it's possible), and so on...
Imagine this situation, the opponent is not present on the board (far away), you ...
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Is this move illegal?
I'm currently writing my own chess game with my own AI and have a Question about a move:
Here, Purple moved his Pawn from F2 -> F3, which allowes the Green Queen on H4 to capture the King, and I ...
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8
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Can a player in check win, by checkmating the opponent, while not getting themselves out of check?
Consider a player who is in check. Suppose they can make a move that would checkmate the opponent, but would not stop themselves from being in check. Would that be a legal move?
For example, in the ...
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When is it legal to castle moving the rook first?
As a follow on from the question Is it legal to castle with a "ghost" rook: When is it legal (according to the FIDE Laws of Chess) to castle moving the rook first?
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Questions about USCF Tournaments Requirements to Get the U.S. Chess Master Title [closed]
We want to organize USCF chess tournaments valid to get the U.S. chess master title. Please answer the following questions:
Do we need a minimum of 4 rounds, if we are organizing a swiss
system?
Do ...
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Taking the King while (self) being in check in Blitz Chess [duplicate]
In Blitz (5-min Chess) your opponent puts you in check.
You then make a move that places your opponent in check.
Can your opponent still take your King and claim victory (even though he's in check)?
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What rule is FIDE's ethics and disciplinary commission investigating Karjakin and Shipov under?
FIDE recently issued a public statement condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and also announcing an investigation of GMs Karjakin and Shipov by the Ethics and Disciplinary commission.
Source
...
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Moving a piece out of the way to check
I was recently told that you may not move a piece out of the way of a second piece to allow the second piece to put the other player in check.
For example,
I have my queen and rook lined up on a ...
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Do FIDE and USCF require Writing Notation in Tournaments with Short Time Controls? When Writing Notation is Optional?
Do FIDE and USCF require Writing Notation in Tournaments with Short Time Controls? When is Writing Notation Not Required?
We are planning to organize a monthly 30+30 tournament (30 minutes for the ...
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Can I promote to a queen twice?
I am confused about pawn promotion. If I promote two different pawns, can I promote them both to a queen?
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Escaping a double check
Escaping a double check
The answer to Is it possible to block a double check? says
Moving the king is the only way to escape a double check. There is no possible other move that will block both ...
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What is the idea behind the touch move rule?
Where did this rule originate? Why does it exist?
I just recently learned about it, and in my casual coffeeshop chess games, it has never been mentioned or enforced.
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Looking for the finesse variant rules by GM Walter Browne
I am looking for the rules of chess variant finesse by GM Walter Browne.
Here is my research so far.
Two youtube videos :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nysD5lS4lBI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...
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Is it possible for the hopper/locust to jump over unmovable squares?
If a board with unmovable squares, such as Chessence, has a Cannon on a1, and an enemy piece on a3, can the Cannon jump over the unmovable square (a2) and capture the target?
Normally, a "leaper&...
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