Half-move
A half-move, also called a ply, is a single turn by one side, so a full move in chess notation consists of two half-moves, one by White and one by Black.
Also called: ply
Rules that count moves need a precise unit, and chess uses two. A move, in the Laws, means one turn by each player, as in 1.e4 e5. A half-move, or ply, is a single turn by one side. Count plies when you need exact tallies. The fifty-move rule asks for fifty moves by each player without a pawn move or a capture, which is one hundred plies, and the automatic draw at seventy-five moves by each player needs one hundred and fifty. Articles 9.3 and 9.6.2 word both rules in moves by each player, so keep that in mind when you translate them. FEN stores the number of plies since the last pawn move or capture in its fifth field, and the counter returns to zero after either event. Chess engines report search depth in plies, so a depth of eight plies looks four moves ahead for each side. On a scoresheet each numbered line holds two plies, which is why a long count is easy to get wrong by a factor of two. Check your arithmetic before you claim a draw.
It sits close to FEN. FEN is a compact line of text that records a chess position: the pieces rank by rank, whose turn it is, castling rights, any en passant square, and two move counters.
Compare it with Seventy-five-move rule. The seventy-five-move rule ends the game in a draw automatically when each player has made at least seventy-five moves without a pawn move or a capture, unless the last move was checkmate.
Knowing "Half-move" is the easy part; what to practice next depends on your rating, and the improvement plans by rating band list the habits worth building at each level.
Related terms
The fifty-move rule lets the player on move claim a draw once fifty moves by each side have been completed with no pawn move and no capture, so a game that makes no progress cannot run on forever.
The seventy-five-move rule ends the game in a draw automatically when each player has made at least seventy-five moves without a pawn move or a capture, unless the last move was checkmate.
FEN is a compact line of text that records a chess position: the pieces rank by rank, whose turn it is, castling rights, any en passant square, and two move counters.
A scoresheet is the paper or electronic form on which each player writes down all the moves of the game in algebraic notation, and which both players sign or approve at the end to confirm the result.
A chess engine is a computer program that searches positions and evaluates moves, usually playing and analyzing far stronger than any human, and it is used for analysis, preparation and play against a machine.
Algebraic notation is the standard system for recording chess moves, naming each square by file letter and rank number and each move by the piece letter and destination square, as in Nf3 or exd5.
Guides that go further
What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid.
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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), Article 9.3, read Oct 21, 2026.
- FIDE Laws of Chess (effective 1 January 2023), Article 9.6.2, read Oct 21, 2026.
Want to spot this in your own games?
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