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The "touch rule": A VERY trivial question

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H

San Diego

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How does the "touch rule" (OTB) apply to pawn promotions?

The touch rule generally states that if you touch a piece or pawn of your own, you must move it if you can, and if you touch a piece or pawn of your opponent's then you must capture it if you can.

If you advance a pawn to the 8th rank, does the touch rule apply to the pieces lying around the table? If you touch a rook are you obligated to promote to a rook? Or do you state what piece you intend to promote to when you advance the pawn?

As I said, a VERY trivial question....just curious.

DR

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I found this at chesscircle.net by Bart B:

"From the fifth edition of the USCF rules:

"10H. Piece touched off the board. There is no penalty for touching a piece that is off the board.
a player who advances a pawn to the last rank and then touches a piece off the board is not obligated to promote the pawn to the piece touched until that piece has been released on the promotion square."

--

STS

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You can pick up the pieces that are off the board, therefore not in play, and juggle them if you want. Common sense.

H

San Diego

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Great answer! They've got everything covered. "Common sense" perhaps, but USCF felt it was worth spelling it out in a rule.

If the normal touch rule applied: Imagine that you can't find an extra queen, so you start rummaging around in a box of extra pieces, and your opponent notices that you brush a knight with your hand!

S

Dublin

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On a similar note, if you put a rook on the board upside down as a promoted piece, does it count as a queen or could a picky opponent insist that it's a rook?

STS

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Likewise, touch move only applies to INTENTIONALLY touching the piece. Reaching for a soda and knocking over your rook by accident does not mean you have to move it. Another thing, if you have touched a piece and have to move it, you do NOT have carte blanche to bounce it all over the board and check things out, you return it to it's original square and leave it there until you figure out where to put it. Once.

H

San Diego

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Good points and great info. Thanks!

AThousandYoung
1st Dan TKD Kukkiwon

tinyurl.com/2te6yzdu

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Originally posted by Sam The Sham
Likewise, touch move only applies to INTENTIONALLY touching the piece. Reaching for a soda and knocking over your rook by accident does not mean you have to move it. Another thing, if you have touched a piece and have to move it, you do NOT have carte blanche to bounce it all over the board and check things out, you return it to it's original square and leave it there until you figure out where to put it. Once.
As long as your hand is on the piece I thought you could move it around as much as you wanted. That's not true?

M
Dutch

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Originally posted by AThousandYoung
As long as your hand is on the piece I thought you could move it around as much as you wanted. That's not true?
Yes it is. At least if you did not touch one of your opponents pieces that you can capture. Either with your piece or with your hands. It goed without saying that is must have been your intention to touch that piece accidently brushing it does not count.

However I once played an opponent which moved his bisshop from a1 to a8 to h8 to e4 to f3 to place on b2. After that he made a knight jump with his queen from c1 to d3 only to move it e3 after that. He continued with this kind of moving during the entire game. I found this pretty annoying so he accomplished what he was trying to do. I was young and too kind back then. I think it is not allowed but don't know the exact rule. (owh the game ended in a draw)

-edit- spelling

MR

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Originally posted by AThousandYoung
As long as your hand is on the piece I thought you could move it around as much as you wanted. That's not true?
I think MetBierOp generally has the right idea. As long as you haven't touched an opponent's piece that can be captured with your touched piece, I know of no move-related USCF rule that would prevent you from moving your touched piece all over the board (as long as you don't release your touched piece.) HOWEVER, there IS a USCF rule that prevents annoying behavior (Rule 20G). If you choose to move your touched piece all over the board, especially if you do it multiple times in a game, don't be surprised if your opponent decides to invoke Rule 20G. My guess is that in the case of multiple occurences in a game, almost all tournament directors would uphold the claim.

c
THE BISHOP GOD

BOSTON

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I always promote my pawns into kings.

m

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Originally posted by Mad Rook
I think MetBierOp generally has the right idea. As long as you haven't touched an opponent's piece that can be captured with your touched piece, I know of no move-related USCF rule that would prevent you from moving your touched piece all over the board (as long as you don't release your touched piece.) HOWEVER, there IS a USCF rule that prevents annoying b ...[text shortened]... se of multiple occurences in a game, almost all tournament directors would uphold the claim.
I had this happen. When I informed the TD he said my opponent was not breaking any rule and as long as he eventually moved the touched piece he was OK. When I informed the TD that I found the behaviour annoying, he agreed and made the guy quit.

k

washington

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i play this guy at speed chess and when he knows he has a good endgame he takes the rooks that are off the board and flips them upside down planning on them becoming a queen ;-)

c
THE BISHOP GOD

BOSTON

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are you in D.C.?

g

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I would think that the pawn is promoted before it is replaced. We just impowered the pawn and kept playing. We would laugh when we played the promoted pawn.

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