Irregularities

What to do when an irregularity happens

• Restore the point immediately before the irregularity.

  • If you don’t know where that point is, keep going back until both players agree.

• If the initial position is wrong, restart the game UNLESS the game is finished, in which case it’s finished! It’s the arbiter’s decision to figure out what to do with the clocks (either keep them the same, give extra time or restart it)

• If the players are the wrong colors and it is noticed before 10 moves are made, then the game is restarted. Normally, you’d update the pairings by stating the color they actually played in the game.

Displaced pieces (e.g. you knock over a piece) should be replaced on the player’s own time. If you knocked over the piece and pressed the clock, someone should pause the clock and then the piece is put back. The arbiter can decide whether they should add time/remove time or leave it - it’s up to the arbiter.

This isn’t common, but the laws don’t actually say when the time is added. You can choose to not add the time right away (may be best in like, blitz, by adding the time right there and then, you might be giving both sides more thinking time by editing the clock), but you have to make sure to add it (e.g. if they were going to run out of time you can give them more time).

Illegal Moves

An illegal move is a move that is not valid. The easiest way to tell if something is an illegal move or otherwise is to imagine you took a picture of the board before the move and took a picture of the board after the move. Is it possible to make a move that gets from the first board to the second board, and is the second board in a valid state?

Examples of illegal moves are the following:

• Move a piece to a square it can’t legally move to:
  • You move a rook diagonally
  • You move a king into check
  • You make a move that doesn't get you out of check
• Failing to complete promotion properly
• Starting the opponent’s clock before making a move

Examples of things that aren't illegal moves (but are irregularities either way):

• Moving with 2 hands. Moving with one hand and pressing the clock with another hand
• Touching a piece, then moving another piece

Illegal moves only require attention once the move has been completed. If a player makes an illegal move (e.g. picks up a rook, moves it diagonally, places it on a new square, releases the piece), the player can correct this (move the piece back and move it correctly).

If a player makes an illegal move but the piece they touched cannot be moved (e.g. they touched a rook, but they're in check and moving the rook cannot get them out of check), then they can move any other piece.

If illegal move is completed, position is reset (similar to the irregularity rule above). Don’t forget, touch move exists. If they touched a piece and they’re in check:

• If they can use the touched piece to prevent check, they have to move that piece
• If not, then they have to use whatever they can to get them out of check

Promotion

If you move a pawn to the end and click the clock before placing the new piece, that piece is now a queen. This is an illegal move. Time penalty (+2 mins) applies, and the game resumes with the queen as the promoted piece.

Upside-down rooks

Upside down rooks are rooks and not queens. (No exceptions). When it comes to promotion and there aren’t enough pieces (e.g. there isn’t a queen available), you as the arbiter should be offering the pieces - DO NOT offer a queen, you HAVE to offer a queen, rook, bishop and a knight. Otherwise, it can be seen as giving advice (if you only offer a queen)

If a player uses an upside down rook, arbiters can only step in if a player moves the upside down rook diagonally (because that’s incorrect). If the opponent puts an upside down rook, you cannot step in because that’s classed as disruption.

If you can do this before the clock resumes, you can pause the clock and correct the orientation of the piece (turn it right-side up) (reminding the player to place his pieces correctly) and tell the players “this is a rook”. If you cannot do this before the clock resumes, you leave it be. You can class this (stopping the clock and correcting the orientation of the piece) as a “distraction for the opponent”

Second illegal move

Second illegal move loses the game. If the opponent cannot mate, then the game is drawn instead.