I play with a glove...

The rule is there to keep the game going in a reliable way. This reliablity keeps both players coming back to the board and avoids arguments while there.

Serious players have no problem with keeping the rules agreed to beforehand.

Weaker and inexperienced players may feel otherwise but that's not important. They may also feel that en passant and even castling are "trick moves" and shouldn't be allowed in their games. They are welcome to their feelings but their feeling aren't of much concern for those who know and appreciate the game. Get in line or play with each other.

 I play in England for a chess team so wouldn't call myself "inexperienced". We don't abide by the touch move ruling in tournament play.

Unfortunately, SaxophoneSam,   many younger Players are so overcome with a desire to win that they would seek to win in any manner - even by unethical means.  I would like to presume that was a 'tongue-in-cheek' suggestion, and not serious.

    The rules allow for "Reasonable Person" evaluation of events on the board.  If your sleeve brushes your king and knocks it over (or a passerby does the same), obviously that was not an intentional move - and a reasonable person would allow his/her opponent to reset the piece on the square it should have been on - to continue the game without a lot of hassle.

     That any player should suggest such behavior without making it quite clear that suggestion is a joke - for the kids reading here - is not good.    Give the kids a break - they get confused enough as it is.   Usually their confusion arises from their innate conflict rising from wanting to do the "right" or "fair" thing, and then watching whose behavior?     [yes, older players' egregious  or 'less than stellar' behavior toward each other.]    often based on 'wanting to win' so much that reasonable behavior is suspended for a few minutes to secure the win.

regards,

SHUT UP DAMN

lol calm down

Heavyartilly, you are a bit of a wanker really aren't you?

Hey, sorry if its an amateur question, but how does one pronounce J'adoube?

Amaru, if the games you are playing in the team events are fide rated touch move rule must be followed.

If a player needs to adjust a piece, you are allowed to tell your opponent before you touch it that you would like to adjust the piece. You can then center the piece on the square or turn the knight so that it faces the way you want. But the rule is necessary. I've played with people who move the piece to a square to see what it looks like there. They will then put the piece back on the wrong square. The argument that comes up is was the new square the move or was it a mistake. Best not to touch the piece at all. Chess is a mind game, think, make your move, live with it. 

As far as someone knocking your piece over it is perfectly ok to pick it up off the floor. 

ja-doob. Or just mutter your best guess and the opponent will understand.

In the U.S. saying, "adjust" is reasonable as well.

Dearest Reb,

We have the BCF over here. If you would like full BCF  rulings I will happily email them to you. 

Regards

A

Let's just play chess and let ability prevail. I couldn't give a monkeys toss about trivial rules.

used to play this guy once who was always moaning about "touch move". I always beat him. Maybe he always protested because he knew he was pants!!! Who knows.

let ability prevail

Do some people think with their hands?

I can't think of a time in which I've physically moved a piece on the chessboard when I wasn't either making my final choice for a move, or adjusting a piece on the border between two squares.

If you want to undo a move immediately after making it, then perhaps you should have spent the extra second considering the move.

Based the information on the ECF website it would appear that you follow FIDE rules.

The FIDE Laws of Chess cover adjustment and touch-move in articles 4.2 and 4.3 respectively.

@Grakovsky: That is certainly an amusing example! And a good point about how the rules of chess have evolved since 1893. The current rules do not force a player to move the king in that circumstance.

Laws of Chess 4.5: If none of the pieces touched can be moved or captured, the player may make any legal move.

Touch move is not trivial. It is the law.

Any club or  casual group whose "local custom" that allows players to touch multiple pieces and not move them is short changing their members.

When they get to a tournament, the players that have not developed good habits will be doomed to make touch move errors. And you can bet if there is money and/or rating points are on the line opponents who happen to be savvy about the rules will call you on it.

I recall an interesting "touch move" story. Though I can't recall who the story is about, my memory says it was in something like a junior championship. In a very difficult endgame, Our Hero's opponent had only one move that didn't lose and in fact would win. It was a pawn move and Our Hero had figured out this move. His opponent cautiously reached for the pawn and shortly before his hand reached it, Our Hero blurted out "Touch move! you have to move that pawn!" Of course, the junior player on the other side of the board immediately said he hadn't touched the pawn. They both finally agreed, but the poor guy on the move had effectively been scared off of the winning move, and went on to lose.

 Please look at the british chess federation website

 Please look at the british chess federation website