Chess Tournament Rules & Regulations Archives

In a game of chess, there are six different chess pieces or chessmen used on chessboards. These are King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, and Pawn. On a chessboard, a chess player starts playing with 16 pieces of chessmen either with white sides of pieces or black(dark) side of pieces. Every rated game contains 1 each extra pair of queen for pawn promotion. Even the chess equipments which are used is a standard tournament chess set approved by FIDE.

King Movement

The king, without any doubt, is the most important piece in chess. The purpose of the game is to capture the opponent’s king so that its escape becomes impossible, which is also called “checkmate” in chess term. If an opponent’s king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If this cannot be done, the king is said to be in checkmate. Although the king is the most important piece, it is also one of the weakest pieces in the game.

This must be taken into consideration that white always starts with the king on the first rank to the right of the queen. Black stands directly opposite to the white’s king. With the squares labeled as in algebraic notation, the white king starts on e1 and black on e8. As shown in the diagram below, the king can move only one square in any direction. An interesting point to note about this rule is that two kings can never stand next to each other or capture each other. Though a king may be, and often are, used to help to checkmate the opposing king by guarding squares. The moment of King is generally described by the letter K.

Queen Movement

The Queen is, without a doubt, the most powerful piece on the chessboard. She can move with the combination of both bishop and rook in any direction (barring any obstruction). In the diagram below, the green dots indicate the squares the queen may move. She can cover 27 squares. This is a healthy percentage of the board, 42 percent.

This is a reason that in almost every chess game, the pawn is promoted to a queen. In a chessboard, a white queen sits on a white square and the black queen starts on a black square.

The Queen is described by Q. In algebraic notation, the white Queen starts on d1 and the black queen starts on d8. The queen can be moved in any number of unoccupied squares, expect Knight’s move, in vertically, horizontally and diagonally.

Bishop Movement

The bishop sits next to King and Queen in the chess game. It may move

any number of squares in a diagonal direction (barring any obstruction). Each player begins the game with two bishops, one on White Square and one on Dark Square. Because they move only diagonally, they always remain on the same colored squares.

They may not jump over the pieces like a knight, but together they can cover a large area and can limit the opponent’s movement.

The Bishop is generally described by B. In algebraic notation, the starting squares are c1 and f1 for white bishops and c8 and f8 for black bishops.

Knight Movement

The knight in the game is generally represented by a horse’s torso. Unlike any of the chess pieces in the game, the knight may jump over other pieces. This gives it a degree of flexibility and makes it a powerful piece especially in a game where the board is cluttered with the pieces. Each chess player starts with the two knights each one on the different squares. In the diagram below, the yellow dots are the opponent’s pieces which are being passed over and the green dots are the squares where the knight may move or captures the opponent’s piece)

Letter N generally describes the Knight. Some early Staunton sets come with Kingside Knight stamping as it becomes easy for the players to distinguish between two knights as these pieces can move to any squares, unlike bishops. Though, the value of the Knight is equivalent to the bishop i.e 3. The knight’s movement can also be viewed as “L” laid out at any horizontal or vertical angle. In algebraic notation, the starting squares of Knights are b1 and g1 for white side and b8 and g8 for black knights.

Rook Movement

The rook, mostly shaped like castle or towers, is among the powerful pieces on the board. The value of the rook is 5, more than bishop and knight and only after the Queen. The rook can be worth a bishop/knight and two pawns. The rook can move any number of squares (barring any obstruction) in a straight line along any row or column. As shown in the diagram below, the rook can move or capture in any square that has green dots.

R generally describes the rooks. The rooks also come in Kingside stamping in early pre-Staunton sets so that players can easily distinguish between these two. In algebraic notation, the white rook starts on a1 and h1 and dark rook starts on a8 and h8. The rooks may move horizontally or vertically. The rook also participates, with a king, also known as castling. Know more about castling>

Pawn Movement

In a chess game, players start with eight pawns on either side. These are one of the weakest pieces in the chess game and their value is 1, though they have the potential to become the Queen if a pawn reaches to the opponent’s main squares, i.e. a2 reaches a8. Pawns cannot move diagonally or backward, but they move straight ahead unless they are taking another piece where they can change their column.

The pawns are generally described by P. In algebraic notation, the white pawn starts on a2, b2, c2, …., h2, while dark pawns start on a7, b7, c7, …. , h7. Generally, pawns move only one square, however, the exception is the first time is that when a pawn is moved, it may move two squares forward provided there are no obstruction pieces. All eight pawns can move two squares when sitting on their original positions. In the diagram, the green dots show where the pawn may move, and the red dots show where the pawn may capture the piece.

Most of the international chess tournaments follow a set of common rules. These rules do not necessarily be followed when we are playing the game at home or online but these rules must be followed by tournament chess players.

People who are playing at home or for leisure purposes can use economy chess pieces to start with , or if they want to play with fancy chess sets they can try luxury chess pieces. We have put together some of the most important points or rules followed in tournament chess games, which will explain some common misconceptions about tournament play and will clarify some of the rules that pertain especially to chess tournaments.

Below are the FIDE approved rules for tournament chess games:-

1. Touch-move – Touch and Move rule has to be strictly followed. If a player touches one of their own pieces then he must move that piece, if it is a legal move. If a player touches a piece of that of the opponent, then capturing that piece is a must. If you let go of a piece, you have to leave it there.

Players who wish to touch a piece only to adjust it on the chessboard must first announce the intention, usually by saying “adjust”. Chess pieces and chess boards must not be touched except the gameplay.

2. Timings and clocks – The purpose is to keep track of the total time each player takes for his own moves. The players may take more or less time over any individual move, but if one player exceeds their total available time, that player has lost the game. Another important rule is that if a player runs out of time, their opponent must point it out, and if it goes unnoticed, play continues.

A chess clock is really two separate clocks that run independently of each other. For many players, it is their first experience with clocks when they play for the tournament and hence it is of utmost importance that the players should know, how to operate these clocks. When the button on one side is pressed down, that player’s clock stops and the other player’s clock starts. Shop DGT 3000 Digital Chess Clock (Approved by FIDE)

3. Recording the moves – In chess tournaments, it is mandatory for both the chess players to record the moves made by them. Each chess player is required to record the chess moves in algebraic chess notation. For beginners who want to practice chess with tournament rules, we recommend plastic chess pieces with chess boards with notations to make it easy for them to see the co-ordinates and note down their moves.

When the game concludes, both the players are required to sign the scoresheet and hand it over to the organizer, if asked to do so. Recording the moves is avoided in the blitz, rapid or any kind of fast chess games because that would then take away the important thinking time of the players.

Related Blog: How to Make the Best Chess Opening Moves?

4. No interference – When the game is in progress, no third party is allowed to interfere in the game. If you are attending any chess tournament then you are allowed to walk through the playing area but provided you do that quietly. You are not allowed to make any suggestions to the players regarding their game. If you do so, it is regarded as a violation of rules. A player is also not allowed to ask for help from the audience or any other person.

Talking about no interference if someone wants to practice and self study the great chess games played by legends, we at chessbazaar also have Analysis chess sets, which you can use and easily analyze and learn from chess games.

5. Distractions – Chess is a quiet and focus-needing game! and therefore the players need no distractions. All disturbing behaviors like making noises, talking, moving tables or chairs are forbidden. Exceptions are when you want to indicate rules violation, such as an illegal move.

6. Illegal moves – If the chess player makes any illegal move then the Arbiter shall give an extra time of 2 minutes to the opponent player. If the same player makes the second illegal move in the same game then the Arbiter shall announce the game lost by the offending player.

7. Scoring the moves – Players are granted one point (1) for a win, a half (½) point for a draw, and no points (0) for a loss toward their tournament score. Everyone plays the same number of games. The player with the maximum number of points at the end of tournament wins.

8. Conduct of the players – All the players must observe the code of conduct that is common for all the players. Players are not allowed to take any action that will bring the game to disgrace, e.g cheating, sneaking the captured piece back. During a tournament, the use of mobile phones or other electronic means of communication is completely forbidden. If it is evident that a player brought such a device into the playing venue, he shall lose the game. Players should not distract or annoy their competitors in any way.

Finally, we would love to see you practice your first tournament style game with our tournament chess sets. Give them a dekko and we are sure you’ll be amazed to see the elite craftsmanship of our experienced artisans. We recommend you to kindly subscribe to our newsletter for upcoming deals and new launches.

All the best for your first chess tournament!