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Subject: Re: Touch move or not ?

Author: Ricardo Gibert

Date: 13:14:12 07/09/04

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On July 09, 2004 at 14:24:52, Wayne Lowrance wrote:

>in a OTB move with my neighbor I put my hand over a piece to move, I had not
>touched it but I had second thoughts, in removing my hand I accidently touched
>the piece. We had a big beef over this. Should I have been forced to make the
>move.....Thank You
>Wayne
>P>S> we play touch move

I believe the FIDE rule is if it is——clear——that touching the piece was
unintentional, then you don't have to move it.

There is a story of 2 quite strong players playing a game in a tournament. One
of the players grabbed a bishop to move it, realized "too late" that it was a
blunder. Thinking fast he put it into his coffee to stir it pretending he picked
up the bishop instead of his spoon by mistake. He was permitted to play a
different move instead.

I played in a blitz tournament and had my 2 bishops next to each other. I picked
up the wrong one and tried to move it to the wrong color square. I looked up at
my opponent and said, "I picked up the wrong bishop by mistake." He nodded and I
played the other bishop to the square. No argument. No problem. He was a strong
player who understood the rules.

In your case, you had intended to move it a moment before and so it was perhaps
not——clear——that touching it was an accident. If that is the case, in a
tournament you're screwed.

In a game between friends, it would seem he/she should take your word for it
that touching it was accidental. On the other hand, you ought to abide by the
rules as they would be enforced in a tournament. He has some justification for
expecting that.

Alternatively, perhaps your opponent thinks that any piece that is touched must
be moved whether it was accidental or not. If that is the case, he/she is making
a common and honest mistake.

My recommendation is that since these are informal games, just resign on the
spot. Don't turn it into an ego thing. It's no big deal. Play another game and
have fun.




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