Author: Robert Henry Durrett
Date: 09:33:33 09/02/98
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On September 02, 1998 at 01:06:23, Serge Desmarais wrote: >On September 01, 1998 at 22:04:32, Danniel Corbit wrote: > >>Is it possible to promote a pawn to a pawn? [i.e. no change?] >>I know it makes no sense. I just want to know if it is legal by the rules of >>chess. > > > Nope! A pawn, when it reaches respectively the 8th rank for White and the 1st >rank for Black, MUST be changed for any piece of ITS OWN COLOUR, EXCEPT a pawn >or a king. In fact, the is changed IN GETTING to the last square of its file. >The move is NOT completed until the new piece enters the board, which means that >you cannot press your clock button until you put the new piece on board (though >if NO piece of the kind you want is available at around, you can stop the clocks >while you go get one). Also, there must not be a too long hesitation from you >before putting the new piece in play (you cannot push a white pawn on the eight >rank and wait 5 minutes to decide what piece to chose from!) It must be done, as > most as possible, in 2 consecutive and "fluid" movements. Often, the pawn >doesn't effectively reach the last rank, it is removed from the 7th (for White, >for example) and the new piece is almost simultaneously placed on the eth rank >(same column). > >Note, the same rule concerning the fluidity of your gestures is applied to a >capture (moving a piece onto an occupied square AND immediately removing the >captured piece from the board) to the castle and to the en passant capture. All >these "special" 2-movements moves are considered ONE legal move and every step >must be completed before it is considered done and you be allowed to press your >clock. > >Serge Desmarais That having been said, how many people are there who, in over the board speed chess tournaments, or in standard-time-control games with players both in extreme time trouble, who have not observed the following, and maybe even done it themselves? (1) In blitz: Although "illegal," someone makes an illegal move and the opponent does not catch it till the game has progressed a few moves. Specifically, someone pushes a pawn to the eighth rank and then it is instantly captured by the opponent after which he punches the clock and the game continues. No-one complains. The game just continues. (2) In extreme time-control situations, after one player pushes a pawn to the eighth rank and says "Queen!" and there are no pieces off the board to replace the eighth rank pawn with: Play continues, with the new pawn taking on the powers of the queen. That "pawn" might zip clear across the board, or even checkmate the enemy king in a back-rank mate!
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