Intended move

In the rules, an intended move is not merely the move a player is thinking about. It is an exact move formally identified before it is played to claim a draw because the same position will appear for the third time, or because the move will complete fifty moves by each player without a pawn move or capture.

The player to move writes the move on the scoresheet, the game’s move record, or enters it on the electronic scoresheet and tells the arbiter, the official who applies the rules, of the intention to play it. Play is paused while the claim is checked. Once indicated, the move cannot be changed.

If the claim is correct, the game ends in a draw. If it is incorrect, the opponent receives two extra minutes under the standard procedure, or one in rapid chess, a form with less time per player. When the claim was based on an intended move, the player must proceed with that move under the movement and touch-move rules. Only after its physical execution does it become a made move.

Recording a move before playing it is normally forbidden. The intended-move procedure is a specific exception for these draw claims, not general permission to write future moves.