In a G30;d5 tournament this weekend, White played d8 and punched his clock, not replacing his pawn. Black had a K on g8 and f7 was available for a K move. The squares between g8 and d8 were vacant. Black then immediately played Rb8-b1 checkmating the King on g1 with pawn’s on h2-f2 and no piece was able to interpose or capture the Black Rook. Please justify answers by quoting rules.
Is not promoting the pawn and punching the clock an illegal move?
How would you rule on the mate when protested?
If you rule the pawn has to be promoted, who chooses what piece is used to promote?
Rule 8F7. “… It is improper to press the clock to start the opponent’s time with the pawn still on the last rank. …”
This is not an illegal move. White is still on move and must properly determine then complete the pawn move. (Rules 8f6 and 9D)
It is not Black’s move yet, therefore he cannot play Rb1.
Rule 8F6 "… On reaching the last rank, a pawn must immediately be exchanged, as part of the same move, for the player’s choice of a queen, a rook, a bishop, or a knight of the same color as the pawn. … "
White would choose which is exchanged for the pawn.
Black’s move has to be retracted, White’s clock must be restarted, and the pawn must be promoted.
White, as always.
I suppose the TD has discretion to penalize, in #1, but I don’t find that we call it illegal
Has there ever been a rule that would allow the opponent to choose which piece is to take the place of the pawn?
This is what I saw happen in one scholastic tournament. Player A places pawn on eighth rank, presses clock. Player B replaces the pawn with a Queen, since the needed piece is closer to him. Player A thanks him. Game moves on. No TD called. Later, I cited the rule on promotion to the kids. They both shook their heads and said they did not like it. When asked why, the boy said, “Isn’t there supposed to be courtesy between the players?” The girl said, “That’s called chess etiquette.” Hmm, out of the mouth of babes…
That’s a beautiful story. There’s a bunch of rules we shouldn’t need. But the reality is that coaches need to instruct their players in proper procedures.
That is exactly what black thought. He did not know the rule and thought his opponent would replace the pawn. FYI, this was one of his first rated games.
The problem with not promoting the pawn before starting your opponents clock is the following:
You or your opponent or both are short on time. Your opponent moves a pawn to the 8th and starts your clock. You lose time trying to figure out what to do. In a casual game, no problem. In a tournament game with clocks, leaving the pawn on the board saves one time and costs the opponent. Additionally, in the admittedly rare circumstance where the Queen is not the right choice, it gives the promoting player additional time to evaluate the promotion when they leave the pawn on the board.
Yes, I will be courteous when time permits. I will offer to replace the pawn and explain the proper way to promote when the game is over.
We (TDs) should always have the ability to add back lost time, as a fair and impartial way to mitigate the damage done to players by these events, and, in addition, to take away time from the offender as a punitive measure. That would be my response, and simply await reprimand from appeals.
Rule 8F7. Promoted piece is not available. “If the desired piece is not available to replace a promoted pawn, the player may stop both clocks in order to located that piece and place it on the board. A player who cannot quickly find such a piece may request that assistance of the director. It is common practice, however, to play using an upside-down rook for a second queen. In the absense of the player’s announcement to the contrary, an upside-down rook shall be considered a queen. It is improper to press the clock to start the opponent’s time with the pawn still on the last rank. If this is done, the opponent may immediately restart the player’s clock without moving.
As soon as the new piece is placed on the board, either player should restart the clock.”
What the heck does “improper” mean? If you make a half-finished move and start your opponent’s clock, why would the opponent’s only redress be to re-start your clock? I understand that the rule says that, but I don’t see how this is different from playing Ke1-g1 and then leaving the Rook at h1 or taking an opponent’s piece off the board as part of a capture while leaving your own piece on its original square. In other words, how does this differ from other situations which would be classified as “illegal” moves?
I think the difference is that moving the pawn to the eighth rank is, in itself, legal. The problem is that a player who does so and then presses the clock without replacing the pawn with the promotion piece has not correctly determined (per rule 9D, Pawn Promotion) the move before pressing the clock (which would ordinarily complete the move).
On the other hand, I think that whether the player has made an illegal move depends on the definition of “illegal move.” The USCF Official Rules of Chess do not explicitly define an illegal move. The FIDE Laws of Chess do:
Roughly speaking, Articles 3.1 through 3.9 of the Laws of Chess correspond to USCF rules 7 (Definition of the Move), 8 (The Moves of the Pieces), and 12 (Check). If we accept that as the definition of an illegal move, then a player who has left a pawn on a square on the last rank has not complied with rule 8F6 and has committed an illegal (not just improper) move.
Sigh – I do wish the USCF Official Rules of Chess would include a definition of “illegal move.” I don’t like rules using terms that the rules do not define.
Why does it have to be an illegal move to add two minutes? Adding two minutes is the standard penalty when a penalty is unspecified (1C2a) and the TD did not opt to do something else via 1C2b.
Well, leaving a pawn un-promoted is is mot a completed move player’s clock can just run. assuming a Pawn is a queen only works, if it is only Pawn of that color left
