What Happens If You Make An Illegal Move In Chess?

The concept of illegal moves in chess is defined in the rules, and by rules, we mean the FIDE Laws of Chess, as the lack of observance of the regular movements of pieces.

That is to say, a king cannot move more than one square, except for the castling with the farther rook, because its movement is restricted to one square.

In the same way, a bishop cannot ‘jump’ over a piece as it moves, and neither can a rook. These are movement restrictions that, if disrespected, can deem a move illegal.

As for the position of a piece, a series of movements can lead said piece to reach a certain square. However, if any of the moves in the series is considered illegal, then the position itself shall also fall to illegality.

At this point, it’s important to understand that the rules and laws we are discussing here only apply to official matches and tournaments. When it comes to street chess, these rules can bend to the players’ wills.

The same disruption might be seen in matches that are not ranked, in which even takebacks are permitted. So, if you want to play the real deal, then the rules will have to be observed.

What Happens If You Make An Illegal Move In Chess?

Now that we covered what are illegal movements as a concept, what happens if a player makes an illegal move? The first thing that happens is the opponent realizes an illegal move was made since an unnoticed illegal move shall bear no consequences.

That is extremely rare in official matches, as players are more than used to catching illegal moves. However, in case the illegal move is identified, the offended player has to pause the clock and call the arbiter for verification of the illegality.

If the move is indeed considered illegal, the piece or pieces involved shall be returned to the previous legally identifiable position, and the offended player should receive two more minutes of the clock.

What If A Second Illegal Move Was Made?

In the event a second illegal move is made, the player who committed it shall be deemed the loser of the match. To make it more graphic, if a player fails to make a move but pushes the clock button, he or she has just made an illegal move.

Also, if a player’s pawn reaches the farthest square in the same rank but fails to exchange it for another piece, the consequence should be to exchange it for a queen of the same color and consider the move illegal.

Lastly, the second illegal move, which normally leads the offending player to suffer a loss in that match, may also cause the game to end in a draw.

That happens if, and only if, the offended player’s pieces are in such a position that they cannot lead to a checkmate of the opponent’s king through any series of legal moves.

Surely, you wouldn’t see it as fair to reward illegality with more illegality, would you?