Beginners
Tournament Rules and Etiquette
Playing your first over-the-board tournament is different from playing online or at home. The moves are the same, but there are rules about how you touch the pieces, how you use the clock, when you can offer a draw and what you can bring into the room. This guide follows the FIDE Laws of Chess, which most tournaments around the world use, though national federations and individual events can add their own regulations. When in doubt, ask the arbiter: that is what they are there for.
Touch-move
The touch-move rule is the one that surprises casual players most. Under the FIDE Laws, if you deliberately touch one of your own pieces when it is your move, you must move that piece, as long as it has a legal move. If you deliberately touch one of your opponent's pieces, you must capture it if you can.
A few details matter:
- If you touch several pieces, you must move or capture the first one touched that can legally be moved or captured.
- Once you release a piece on a square, the move is made. You cannot pick it up and put it somewhere else, even if you have not pressed the clock.
- To castle, touch the king first and move it two squares, then move the rook with the same hand. If you touch the rook first, you may lose the right to castle on that move.
- When a pawn promotes, the move is complete once the new piece is placed on the promotion square.
- Only your opponent can claim a touch-move violation, and they must do so before touching a piece themselves. They usually do this by stopping the clock and calling the arbiter.
The practical habit: keep your hands away from the board until you have decided on your move. Many players sit on their hands or fold them in their lap while thinking for exactly this reason.
J'adoube: adjusting pieces
Pieces often end up off-centre on their squares. You may straighten them, but only on your own move and only after you say so first. The traditional phrase is the French j'adoube ("I adjust"); saying "I adjust" in English is equally fine. Say it before you touch the piece. Saying it after you have picked up a piece does not save you from touch-move. Do not adjust pieces during your opponent's move; if something on the board bothers you then, wait until it is your turn.
Recording the moves
In standard (classical) games, each player must write down the moves, both their own and their opponent's, on the scoresheet provided, using algebraic notation (see how chess notation works). Under current FIDE Laws you make your move on the board first and then write it down; writing a move in advance as a reminder is not allowed. Your scoresheet must stay visible to the arbiter during the game.
There is an exception for time trouble. If you have less than five minutes left and are not receiving an increment of 30 seconds or more per move, you are not required to keep recording. In rapid and blitz games, recording is not required at all. After the game, both players sign both scoresheets, which also record the result.
Draw offers
The correct procedure is: make your move on the board, offer the draw, and then press your clock. Offer it in a clear, short phrase such as "Would you like a draw?" Your opponent can accept it verbally, reject it verbally, or reject it simply by touching a piece to make their move.
- A draw offer cannot be withdrawn. It stands until your opponent accepts or rejects it.
- Do not offer a draw while your opponent's clock is running and they are thinking about something else; it disturbs them.
- Repeated draw offers after they have been declined can be treated as annoying the opponent, which the arbiter can penalise.
- Some events have their own rules, for example no draw offers before a certain move number. Check the tournament rules.
Draws by threefold repetition and the 50-move rule are not automatic in the usual case: a player must claim them by following the procedure with the arbiter, normally by writing the intended move on the scoresheet and declaring the claim before playing it. The arbiter declares a draw on their own initiative only in extreme cases, such as the same position appearing five times or 75 moves being played without a capture or pawn move.
Illegal moves
If a player makes an illegal move and presses the clock, the move counts as completed. In standard games under the FIDE Laws, the position is restored to the last position before the illegal move and the opponent receives two extra minutes for the first illegal move. A second illegal move by the same player loses the game, unless the opponent cannot possibly checkmate. Rapid and blitz have their own rules for illegal moves, and penalties can differ by event, so read the tournament regulations if you mostly play fast games. Leaving your king in check, castling through an attacked square and pressing the clock without making a move all count as illegal.
Phones and electronic devices
This is the rule that ends the most games for innocent reasons. Under the FIDE Laws, players may not have a phone or other electronic device on them in the playing venue unless it is completely switched off, and the default penalty for breaking this rule is losing the game. Tournaments can set less strict rules, such as allowing phones switched off in a bag, but some do not. The safest approach is to leave the phone outside the playing area or switch it fully off before the round starts. Smartwatches and earbuds count as devices too.
Clock etiquette
- Press the clock with the same hand you used to move the piece.
- Do not slam or hammer the clock, and do not keep your hand on or hovering over it.
- Leave the clock where the arbiter has placed it; under the FIDE Laws the arbiter decides its position.
- If you need the arbiter during the game, you can pause the clock to call them; do not stop it for any other reason.
- Only the players and the arbiter may point out that a flag has fallen. Spectators, including your friends and teammates, must stay silent.
Behaviour at the board
Chess etiquette is mostly about not disturbing your opponent. Do not talk during the game except to offer a draw, say j'adoube, or speak to the arbiter. Do not comment on the position, sigh loudly, tap the table or eat noisily. You cannot use notes, books or any other source of advice during the game; that includes asking a friend what they think. If you leave the board, walk away quietly, and know the rules of your event about leaving the playing area.
Arrive on time. Many events set a default time, after which a player who has not arrived loses the game, and under the default FIDE rule that time is zero, meaning you must be at the board when the round starts unless the event says otherwise.
The handshake and the result
It is customary to shake hands with your opponent before the game starts and again after it ends. If you are losing and decide to resign, the normal way is to say "I resign" and offer your hand, or stop the clock and offer your hand; tipping your king over is also understood. Do not resign just by walking away. Then sign both scoresheets, report the result as the event requires, and if your opponent wants to go over the game, do it quietly in the analysis area rather than in the playing hall.
Win or lose, a short "good game" costs nothing. Players remember who was a gracious opponent.
Checklist for your first tournament
- Read the event rules: time control, default time, draw-offer rules and phone policy.
- Practise writing down your moves while you play; try it in a slow game against the computer.
- Keep your hands off the pieces until you have decided, and say "I adjust" before straightening one.
- Make the move, then write it, then press the clock with the same hand.
- Phone off and out of reach. If something seems wrong, stop the clock and ask the arbiter rather than arguing.
- Know the time categories before you go; see time controls and clocks.