Can I hover my finger over a chess piece without touching it in a major chess tournament? Noob question: I am aware of the no-touch rule, but can I point or hover my finger over a chess piece in a major tournament? To clarify, let's say it's my turn and I am thinking about which piece to move, and part of my thinking process is to move my finger from one piece to another without actually touching any of them, thus not violating the no-touch rule. To me, it appears that in spirit, it is very much like touching the piece except there is no touching; so is it legal to do that? Spirit aside, is there any law in the book or in any of the major chess tournaments addressing this concept?
Hovering your hand over the pieces does not violate the touch-move rule, but it is bad etiquette and arguably violates the rule against annoying your opponent (&quot;It is forbidden to distract or annoy the opponent in any manner whatsoever.&quot;, say the FIDE Laws of Chess, §11.5 in the 2018 edition.)
Here's the explanation given in Chess for Dummies:

Furthering the touch-move rule, a frequent cause of complaints is the hand hover. The hand hover occurs when a player positions his hand over a piece and leaves it there. The hand hover is a distraction, and you shouldn’t do it — so goes the warning by José Capablanca. You should never obscure your opponent’s sight of the board unless you’re in the act of moving, so don’t reach for a piece until you’ve decided to move it.