What did Benjamin Franklin mean in this quote? I was reading thenarticle at http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/benjamin-franklin-on-the-morals-of-chess, and in the last paragraph, Ben Franklin says &quot;Snatch not eagerly at every advantage offered by his unskilfulness or inattention; but point out to him kindly, that by such a move he places or leaves a piece in danger and unsupported; that by another he will put his king in a perilous situation, etc.&quot;
But he also says &quot;If you touch a piece, you must move it somewhere; if you set it down, you must let it stand.&quot; So if my opponent moves their queen to a spot where I could capture her, what would be the advantage of pointing out that his queen is in danger, since he cannot move his queen back to a safe spot (because once they set it down, and therefore must let it stand)?
You hold yourself to a higher standard than your opponent, for politeness' sake.

So you let him play an alternative move after you kindly point out that it was perhaps not the best available, but you are acquiring a habit of caution by adhering strictly to the laws of the game for your own moves.

The point is to be moral, polite and extremely smug at the same time.