Chess Tournaments have many rules, but there are a few important ones that every tournament player should know.
The Touch Move Rule
Part 1 – If you touch your own piece you must move it, if you can do so legally *
Part 2 – If you touch your opponent’s piece, you must capture it, if you can do so legally
Part 3 – If you move a piece and let go of it then you must move there. If the move is illegal and you cannot move there, then you may choose a different place for that piece, but you still must move it because you touched it.
*If you want to center a piece on its square without having to move it, you must first say “I adjust” and then you may center it.
No Annoying Behavior
At a chess tournament the players need to concentrate. This means you must stay quiet. In fact, there are only a few things you are allowed to say while in the tournament hall: you may say “I adjust” as described above. You may say “check”, “checkmate”, “I offer a draw” or “I resign”. If your opponent does something fishy, or if you have a question, please raise your hand, and wait for a tournament director to help you.
Similarly, you cannot distract people with your body. This means no fidgeting, tapping on the tables, etc. Please be considerate of the players around you!
No Third Party Interference
A chess game is between two players, not two players and their neighbors. If you see something funny happening in the game next to you, like a player moving their king into check, DO NOT SAY ANYTHING. It is up to the people playing the game to notice and correct the error.