Touch-Move Rule Question

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  • Touch-Move Rule Question

    From the CMA tournament this weekend...

    Player A moves his Queen and touches the opponent's pawn with the Queen, but not with his hand. Is he obligated to capture the pawn with the Queen? I have always been under the impression that he must capture but cannot find it explicitly in the rules. Does anyone know a resource that contains information about this. Thanks.
    "Tom is a well known racist, and like most of them he won't admit it, possibly even to himself." - Ed Seedhouse, October 4, 2020.

  • #2
    Re : Touch-Move Rule Question

    Originally posted by Tom O'Donnell View Post
    From the CMA tournament this weekend...

    Player A moves his Queen and touches the opponent's pawn with the Queen, but not with his hand. Is he obligated to capture the pawn with the Queen? I have always been under the impression that he must capture but cannot find it explicitly in the rules. Does anyone know a resource that contains information about this. Thanks.
    CMA has it own rules anyway. :D

    What would be important to know is whether he deliberately touched the opponent's pawn or not.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Touch-Move Rule Question

      It was deliberate.
      "Tom is a well known racist, and like most of them he won't admit it, possibly even to himself." - Ed Seedhouse, October 4, 2020.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re : Re: Touch-Move Rule Question

        Originally posted by Tom O'Donnell View Post
        It was deliberate.
        FIDE rules say that if a player touches another piece, then he must capture it. They don't say if you need to touch it with your hand or with a piece... Common sense would make us think that since the capture was deliberated, the player should not be able to make another move. I guess it is one of these cases where we have to trust the arbiter judgment.
        Maybe an experienced arbiter could tell us what is usually done in tournaments.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Touch-Move Rule Question

          I agree with what you write, but since Player A is a student of mine I am just making certain that I am not giving him out-dated or wrong information.
          "Tom is a well known racist, and like most of them he won't admit it, possibly even to himself." - Ed Seedhouse, October 4, 2020.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Touch-Move Rule Question

            This was covered by Geurt Gijssen in one of his Chess Cafe columns. The piece is considered to be an extension of the player's hand, and touch-move rules apply.
            Last edited by John Coleman; Tuesday, 24th April, 2012, 01:11 AM.

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            • #7
              Re: Touch-Move Rule Question

              Originally posted by John Coleman View Post
              The piece is considered to be an extension of the player's hand, and touch-move rules apply.
              What about a pen? The players thinks about his move with a pencil in his hand, and he starts to bang with it over the king's crown. Would it be a violation of the touch-move? (It is a non-real situation as I know.)

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              • #8
                Re: Touch-Move Rule Question

                Originally posted by Egidijus Zeromskis View Post
                What about a pen? The players thinks about his move with a pencil in his hand, and he starts to bang with it over the king's crown. Would it be a violation of the touch-move? (It is a non-real situation as I know.)
                Also covered by Geurt: http://www.chesscafe.com/text/geurt77.pdf

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                • #9
                  Re: Touch-Move Rule Question

                  Geurt Gijssen was perhaps the top arbiter in the world for a decade or longer, and he was co-author of the FIDE Rules of Chess, but he is not God. The Rules may be his children, but like all children they have their own life now. I'd like to see the exact reference, or the number of the Arbiter's Notebook in question.

                  As for me, I'd be willing to entertain other interpretations.

                  First, I'd like to state something that you won't find in the rules, a kind of cautionary principle. When the consequences of enforcing a rule could be drastic, I'd have a tendency to consider the rule in greatest strictness, to give the narrowest interpretation to the rule. I have read only some of what Mr. Gijssen has written, but I do not think that he shares this approach.

                  So "touch" might generally be "touch with the fingers", which is the normal way to make a move.

                  It's all very well to say that the piece is an extension of the hand, but let's look at some other cases. If a player in leaning over the table, touches a piece with his chin, touch move does not apply. If a player in going to grab a bishop, instead grabs the queen, he might say that he intended to grab the bishop, but in all likelihood, the arbiter is going to rule touch move on the queen grabbed. It is difficult to divine what was intended from what the player said. Should weight be given to a player's testimony, yea or nay, about what his intentions were? Only to condemn him?

                  I'm not sure what I would rule, but instead of a touch move determination, I might rule that the player who knocked one piece with another disturbed his opponent and apply a time penalty. But I'm open to be convinced otherwise.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Touch-Move Rule Question

                    Originally posted by John Coleman View Post
                    [Pen move] covered by Geurt: http://www.chesscafe.com/text/geurt77.pdf
                    LOL ! There's my question ... he may not be God, but he is a useful sounding board. The irony of his answer is that, AFAIR, the incident took place in the last round, so his sanction would affect only the prize awarded to the guilty party, if that.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Touch-Move Rule Question

                      Back to Tom's original question, I discussed it with him, who discussed it with the player himself, who admitted that he deliberately picked up one of his pieces, which he used to make contact with an opponent's piece, en route to capturing it, but changed his mind before his hand actually contacted the opponent's piece. I believe this is a touch-move violation, and the capture, if legal, should stand. I can appreciate Jonathan's philosophy to not enforce something drastic, but on the other hand, except for during one's own move, either adjusting (j'adoube) or making a move, I offhand cannot think of, during normal play (no accident, etc.), of any reason to touch a piece (hand, pen, whatever) under any other circumstance? Of course, I am discounting all non-deliberate contact.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Touch-Move Rule Question

                        Originally posted by Aris Marghetis View Post
                        Back to Tom's original question, I discussed it with him, who discussed it with the player himself, who admitted that he deliberately picked up one of his pieces, which he used to make contact with an opponent's piece, en route to capturing it, but changed his mind before his hand actually contacted the opponent's piece. I believe this is a touch-move violation, and the capture, if legal, should stand. I can appreciate Jonathan's philosophy to not enforce something drastic, but on the other hand, except for during one's own move, either adjusting (j'adoube) or making a move, I offhand cannot think of, during normal play (no accident, etc.), of any reason to touch a piece (hand, pen, whatever) under any other circumstance? Of course, I am discounting all non-deliberate contact.
                        A player reaches out to capture a piece, but just in time changes his mind, and is able to make a different move because the hand never touched the piece he wanted to capture. That is what happened, unless you want touch to transmit.

                        The curse of Midas did not transmit, still he needed the help of Dionysius to save him from death by dehydration. But if you prefer a conga line of causality, you are in good company.

                        A lot does depend on the philosophy of the arbiter with regard to deciding the game, interventionist or lax. I tend to be lax, except when called to be otherwise, e.g., calling the flag in a full time control game. LOL, I'm still in the pre-digital dreamtime. I know that lax isn't fashionable, as shown most of all by enforcement of the abominable (MHO) zero forfeit rule.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Touch-Move Rule Question

                          Originally posted by Jonathan Berry View Post
                          A player reaches out to capture a piece, but just in time changes his mind, and is able to make a different move because the hand never touched the piece he wanted to capture. That is what happened, unless you want touch to transmit.

                          The curse of Midas did not transmit, still he needed the help of Dionysius to save him from death by dehydration. But if you prefer a conga line of causality, you are in good company.

                          A lot does depend on the philosophy of the arbiter with regard to deciding the game, interventionist or lax. I tend to be lax, except when called to be otherwise, e.g., calling the flag in a full time control game. LOL, I'm still in the pre-digital dreamtime. I know that lax isn't fashionable, as shown most of all by enforcement of the abominable (MHO) zero forfeit rule.
                          Hi Jonathan, it seems then that we are disagreeing about the initial incident, of piece touching piece. Do you know of an interpretation supporting your view over mine? If yes, I don't mind changing my position, but I can't find either view officially supported.

                          Best regards, Aris.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Touch-Move Rule Question

                            There is an existing Canadian precedent covering this situation. In the 1996 Atlantic Closed (a Zonal qualifying event), the tiebreak game between Howarth and Horton was decided when Howarth grabbed his rook in a winning position and touched Horton's pawn to capture it. Unfortunately, the capture of the pawn would be stalemate.
                            I was the director for the event and ruled that the rook must be moved. Since the rook was used to deliberately touch the pawn, I also ruled the capture stood; in this case, the rook was an extension of the hand.
                            I'd have no problem ruling similarly for any other implement (e.g. pen) so long as it was being DELIBERATELY used to touch a piece.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Touch-Move Rule Question

                              Originally posted by Aris Marghetis View Post
                              Hi Jonathan, it seems then that we are disagreeing about the initial incident, of piece touching piece.
                              No, Aris, we agree about the facts.

                              Do you know of an interpretation supporting your view over mine? If yes, I don't mind changing my position, but I can't find either view officially supported.

                              Best regards, Aris.
                              According to an earlier post, Geurt Gijssen agrees with you, and according to a later one, so does Alvah Mayo. Once again I stand alone, though I too could be convinced to change my mind, as indicated in post #9.

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