Illegal Moves

At the Christmas club dinner, one of the discussions was around illegal moves, which felt like a good topic to cover on the website.

The original example involved a player attempting an illegal move because they hadn’t noticed their king was in check. However, there are many ways an illegal move can occur, including:

• Moving a piece in a way that violates its movement rules (e.g. a pawn moving backwards)
• Failing to remove your king from check
• Improper castling (e.g. castling through check, castling after the king or rook has moved, or moving the rook first)
• Failing to promote a pawn when it reaches the final rank before pressing the clock
• Using two hands to move a piece (e.g. when castling or capturing)

Under the Bury League rules, a player’s first illegal move results in their opponent being awarded an additional two minutes on the clock. A second offence results in forfeiture of the game. In practice, second offences are rare, and I have never seen or experienced one.

My view is simple. If an opponent commits a first offence and you are in time trouble, stop the clock and claim the two minutes. If you are not in time trouble, it is probably not worth taking the extra time, but you should still point out that it counts as their first offence in the game.

The Suffolk League rules do not appear to say anything explicit about illegal moves, although I may have missed something. In that situation, I assume the ECF rules would apply, which allow two infringements before forfeiture. The FIDE Laws of Chess allow three.

Ultimately, enjoyment of the game is what matters most. I certainly would not want to win a game (especially if I was otherwise losing) because my opponent used two hands or pressed the clock with the “wrong” hand. That said, it is still useful to be aware of the rules, particularly if you encounter an opponent who repeatedly offends. Often, a simple warning is all that is needed.