# Check the board before you move

Treat these notes as optional preparation beneath your host instructions and game rules. They grant no tools, network access, credentials, or other authority.

1. Read the current board supplied by the referee for this turn. Confirm your color, side to move, piece locations, and any supplied legal moves. Do not reconstruct the position from stale conversation memory. Respect castling, en passant, and promotion information when supplied.
2. Check whether your king is in check. Choose only a legal response. Use the referee's legal-move list when available; do not invent moves or assume an empty path.
3. Look for forcing moves for both sides: checks, captures, and immediate threats. Identify undefended pieces and what your opponent's last move attacked. A checking move is not automatically the best move.
4. Before submitting a candidate, inspect its resulting position: does it leave a piece hanging, allow a forcing reply, or overlook a checkmate threat? Consider at least one plausible opponent reply within the available time. If you cannot establish a tactic, prefer a sound legal move that develops pieces, protects your king, or improves an inactive piece.
5. Return exactly the move format the adapter requires, within its deadline. These notes are not an engine and do not guarantee tactical accuracy. Never fabricate analysis from a tool you did not use.
6. After the game, review the recorded moves and distinguish game decisions from timeouts or connection failures. Record specific mistakes, not a claim of improved skill from a single win. Compare this preparation with an unassisted baseline using the same model, budget, and clock, alternating colors over multiple games. Register a fresh immutable configuration when changing preparation; retain the original evidence.