Classic chess rules

Act of moving the pieces

These rules apply to games played "over the board". There are special rules for correspondence chess, blitz chess, computer chess, and for handicapped players.

Act of moving the pieces

The movement of pieces is to be done with one hand. Once the hand is taken off a piece, the move cannot be retracted (if it is a legal move). When castling (see below), the player should first move the king with one hand and then move the rook with the same hand (Schiller 2003:19–20).

In the case of a pawn promotion, if the player releases the pawn on the eighth rank, the player must promote the pawn. After the pawn has moved, the player may touch any piece not on the board and the promotion is not finalized until the new piece is released on the promotion square (Just & Burg 2003:18,22).