touched piece to begin game

I was watching a big tournament in person recently. One GM showed up to his board 10 minutes late, shook his opponent's hand, and sat down. I was no more than five feet from his board. He was playing White but of course his clock was running when he arrived at the board. Before moving, he wrote the necessary information on the scoresheet, took a sip of water, then carefully adjusted all his pieces without saying a word, and then moved 1.e4.
Doesn't the touch-move rule applied here? Shouldn't he be required to move the first piece he touched, (which was his a-pawn, not his e-pawn)?

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

(this is me........i just snapped......i am on a mission......to make chess a noble game once again)

Technically, Black could raise the touch move issue in this case, but I think he would be pretty silly for doing so. In big tournaments where the GM doesn't set up his own pieces, I think it's to be expected that he will adjust his pieces before making his first move. At least in the video clips I've watched, the GMs often adjust the pieces first. I imagine that GMs would implicitly extend the courtesy of piece adjustments at the beginning of the game, especially if he starts the adjusting with one of the rook pawns, since playing a rook pawn first would be highly unusual. If the GM started his adjusting with a d-pawn or e-pawn, I guess the issue might be a little messier. (But since I'm not a GM, I'm just guessing, lol.)

Originally posted by AttilaTheHorn
I was watching a big tournament in person recently. One GM showed up to his board 10 minutes late, shook his opponent's hand, and sat down. I was no more than five feet from his board. He was playing White but of course his clock was running when he arrived at the board. Before moving, he wrote the necessary information on the scoresheet, took a sip of ...[text shortened]... 't he be required to move the first piece he touched, (which was his a-pawn, not his e-pawn)?

nahhhhh....the game hadn't really started yet, and it was obvious he was arranging all his pieces, though saying "adjust" or j'adoube might have been a good idea. .

The game had indeed begun. Although no moves had yet been made, the game started when the arbiter instructed the players to begin and Black punched the clock. However, I think this adjustment is technically against the rules, but as a matter of common courtesy, I'm sure this would be allowed. Every player adjusts his pieces at the beginning, but saying "J'adoubte" would be safer.

So a GM can please himself, and it's just accepted, is that it?

Originally posted by excalibur 122
So a GM can please himself, and it's just accepted, is that it?

If it happened midgame, even Kramnik or Anand would be forced to move the piece. It it happens before someone makes their first move, it's clear that their intention is to adjust the piece, even if they don't verbally say so - and at worst, any compentent tournament director would warn the player to say "adjust" or "j'doube" before they did it again.

Originally posted by OrangeKing
If it happened midgame, even Kramnik or Anand would be forced to move the piece. It it happens before someone makes their first move, it's clear that their intention is to adjust the piece, even if they don't verbally say so - and at worst, any compentent tournament director would warn the player to say "adjust" or "j'doube" before they did it again.

hear hear, all these other guys are being a bit weird about a trivial bit of nothing

Originally posted by excalibur 122
So a GM can please himself, and it's just accepted, is that it?

It doesn't matter that he is a GM. And as a general rule. Rules are made to simplify the making of decisions not to complicate. Rules are not made just to be followed just because its a rule.

I see this a lot in human thinking (I really get crazy in my profession with it). Here it is clear to both players and to bystanders that the player was not intending to maken a move, but was just adjusting. So why complicate by using rules to such a simple and uncomplicated thing?

Originally posted by AttilaTheHorn
I was watching a big tournament in person recently. One GM showed up to his board 10 minutes late, shook his opponent's hand, and sat down. I was no more than five feet from his board. He was playing White but of course his clock was running when he arrived at the board. Before moving, he wrote the necessary information on the scoresheet, took a sip of ...[text shortened]... 't he be required to move the first piece he touched, (which was his a-pawn, not his e-pawn)?

I would have replied by adjusting all my pieces, then bitch slapping him, but that's me.

who cares

my friend at the club says chadube. also we both end up saying it when we blunder during fast games.

Here's an example of a GM getting away with being a jerk:

"Perhaps Matulovic's most notorious transgression was against Istvan Bilek at the Sousse Interzonal in 1967. He put a piece en prise, and then took the move back after saying "j'adoube". His opponent complained to the arbiter, but the move was allowed to stand. This incident earned Matulovic the nickname "J'adoubovic." [1]

Originally posted by Sam The Sham
Here's an example of a GM getting away with being a jerk:

"Perhaps Matulovic's most notorious transgression was against Istvan Bilek at the Sousse Interzonal in 1967. He put a piece en prise, and then took the move back after saying "j'adoube". His opponent complained to the arbiter, but the move was allowed to stand. This incident earned Matulovic the nickname "J'adoubovic." [1]

Actually i guess he didn't really get away with it in the long run since he earned that nickname across the entire world of chess and it's the anecdote that everyone will associate with him until the end of time.

Originally posted by ChessJester
who cares

I agree.
It does get annoying when your opponent continuously adjusts the piece that you have just moved and flicks invisible specs of dust at every opportunity. I'm waiting for the opponent who cleans the pieces after every move I make with the white glove they are wearing (like the snooker referees).