Adjusting a piece
Adjusting a piece means straightening one on its square; the Laws allow it only to the player on the move, who must first say "j'adoube" or "I adjust" to show they do not intend to move it.
Also called: J'adoube
Pieces get nudged, knocked slightly off-center or left standing between squares. Because touch-move says that touching a piece with intent means you must move it, players need a way to tidy the board without penalty. The answer is to announce it first. Saying "j'adoube", French for "I adjust", or "I adjust" in plain English before touching the piece makes your intention clear. Only the player whose turn it is may do this, and only the player whose clock is running may adjust pieces at all. If you do not say the words and you touch a piece, other than by an obviously accidental brush, the arbiter will treat the contact as intent and enforce the touch-move rule. A few practical points: say the phrase out loud, before the hand reaches the piece; do it only on your own time, never in your opponent's; and if a piece is lying on its side or has been knocked over, pause the clock and ask the arbiter, because that is a displaced piece and a separate rule applies. This courtesy takes two seconds and prevents arguments, so make it automatic from your first tournament.
Once "Adjusting a piece" is familiar, the next question is what to work on at your rating, which the improvement plans by rating band answer with game and puzzle data.
Related terms
Touch-move is the over-the-board rule that binds a player to a piece once it has been deliberately touched: your own piece has to be moved and an opponent's piece has to be captured, wherever a legal move exists.
The arbiter is the official who sees that the Laws of Chess and the rules of the event are followed, rules on disputes and claims, and can penalize rule breaches during a tournament.
An illegal move is one that breaks the rules of how a piece moves or leaves your own king in check; in over-the-board play it is corrected, and a second completed illegal move loses the game.
A chess clock is a pair of linked timers of which only one runs at a time; after each move a player presses their side to stop their own time and start the opponent's.
Chess pieces are the sixteen units each side starts with: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns; in everyday speech, though, piece usually means everything except the pawns.
The rules of chess are the Laws of Chess, the document FIDE publishes that sets out how pieces move, how a game ends, how clocks and records work, and how arbiters handle problems.
Guides that go further
What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid.
How much does chess coaching cost?
Published rates for private, group and subscription chess coaching, with the source and the date of each.
A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li.
Sources
- FIDE Laws of Chess (effective 1 January 2023), Articles 4.2.1 and 4.2.2, read Oct 21, 2026.
- FIDE Laws of Chess (effective 1 January 2023), Article 6.2.5, read Oct 21, 2026.
- FIDE Laws of Chess (effective 1 January 2023), Article 7.4, read Oct 21, 2026.
Want to spot this in your own games?
A first lesson starts with your games: George reviews them and builds a study plan around what he finds.