This French expression refers to a rule that is important in over-the-board play: also known as the “touch move” rule, it means you have to make a move with a piece you’ve touched. This means you should always think before you act to make sure you don’t run into an awkward situation that could ruin your game!
When players are not looking to make a move with a piece, and are just moving it to the middle of the square to clear things up, they say “j’adoube”, meaning “I adjust,” making it clear they were not looking to make a move with the piece.
Otherwise, you are obligated to move the piece you’ve first touched, no matter how disastrous the consequences. This is to ensure you can’t bait facial expressions and other reactions out of your opponent. If you have no legal moves with the piece, there is no consequence, but depending on the seriousness of the event, you might face a time penalty applied by the arbiter.
There is another aspect of the touch move rule: your move is not complete until you let the piece go, meaning you can shift it over to a different square if it’s an uninterrupted motion.
Sometimes, even the best players in the world run afoul of the touch move rule. This game would have gone very differently had Magnus Carlsen remembered the specifics. He immediately resigned from the game thereafter.
Related: What is en passant in chess?
The touch move rule doesn’t apply in online games, so that’s one of the many ways your chess life is easier when you are not playing over the board. However, writing “j’adoube” in the middle of your game in the chat could be a source of wry amusement.
