The first special move isn't an exception at all. In fact, it should never be an exception, despite the take-back feature on many of today's chess-playing computers. It is the notorious touch-move rule.

The Rule

The rule is simple enough: If you touch a piece or pawn, you should then move that piece or pawn. If you have made a move and let go of whatever piece or pawn you moved, your move is completed.

This rule is sensible and fair. And it is often abused in casual chess. Many players, particularly those who are not very experienced, will notice that something is wrong about a move in the process of making that move or just after making it. Then the temptation to change the move is often hard to resist.

But it is simply bad manners to change the move in the process of making it, and even poorer manners to change a move that has already been made. Besides, changing the rule is against the rules of chess, as well as against the rules of good sportsmanship.

J'adoube

There are many foreign terms interspersed throughout chess, just like there are foreign terms in music and science—well, maybe not so many as in science. One of these terms is the French expression j'adoube, which means “I adjust.” It refers to handling the pieces or pawns prior to making a move when you have no intention of making a move. You may want to do this to adjust the pieces so that they are neater, setting in the center of the squares, or you may simply want to pick up a piece that has fallen down and place it on its proper square.

Should I say j'adoube if I accidentally touch a piece?

Yes, and immediately, if not sooner. If your opponent doesn't hear j'adoube or “I adjust,” how can she know the touch was accidental?

However, how can your opponent know your intention? If he sees you touch your queen, and he knows that he will win if you move your queen, he may be highly motivated to claim the touch-move rule. But you can circumvent that simply by saying j'adoube or “I adjust,” the English equivalent. That way everybody knows you had no intention of moving your queen.