Originally posted by banx99
someone that i know at school tends to prefer castling by first moving the rook, then the king
what i'm wondering is in a relatively low level tournament, do you think anyone would call him out for touch move for technically letting go of his rook on f1 and won't let him castle, or do you think no one will really notice it?
I agree that touching the rook first isn't the right way to do it. I haven't had someone do this to me, and I'd probably not call him on it, but I probably would mention that he's supposed to touch the king first. And, yes, even in a low-level tournament, he might be called on it.
The OP is using an Australian flag, so I'm not sure if he's playing under FIDE rules or Australian rules.
Under FIDE rules, if someone touches the rook first, castling isn't allowed, and the violator could be forced to make a non-castling move with the rook, if his opponent is a stickler for details. (See FIDE Article 4.4.b)
Here in the USA, the USCF rules are not as clear, unfortunately. In the USCF Rules of Chess, 5th edition, Rule 10I2 states,
"
10I2. Rook touched first. If a player intending to castle touches the rook first, there is no penalty except if castling is illegal, the player must move the rook if legal."
This rule brings up the question of what is meant by "intending to castle." Also, in a December 2005 TD Corner article (see link below), Tim Just gives his interpretation on this rule. Basically, he states that in practice, a TD will usually only give a warning on the first offense, and will usually apply a penalty on subsequent violations by that person in other games. I find this interpretation a little strange, since the rule specifically states that there is no penalty in this situation. My opinion is that if the TDs feel that penalties should apply (and I agree), then the rule should be changed to remove the ambiguity.
http://www.uschess.org/tds/tdcorner1205rs.pdf