Glossary of Chess

N

N: 1. Symbol used for the knight when recording chess moves in English.; 2. An abbreviation for novelty.
NCO: An abbreviation sometimes used for the chess opening reference Nunn's Chess Openings. Cf. ECO and MCO.
NN: Traditionally used in game scores to indicate a player whose name is not known. The origin is uncertain. It may be an abbreviation of the Latin nomina ("names"), or it may be short for the Latin phrase nomen nescio ("name unknown").^[234]
norm: A standard of competitive performance that is required in order for a chess player to be awarded one of several titles, such as Grandmaster, International Master, or Woman Grandmaster, etc. The chess organization, such as FIDE, that awards the titles, will establish specifically what a norm is. For example a candidate might achieve a norm if they play in a tournament and face a certain number of grandmasters, and then have a certain number of wins in that tournament against players that are above a certain rating, and so on. If the candidate then collects a certain number of norms, three for example, they will win a grandmaster title. The details that define a norm can be obtained from the chess organization, and the details will change from time to time.^[235]^[236]
notation: Any method of recording chess moves, allowing games to be later published, replayed and analyzed. The most common notation today is algebraic notation, which is used internationally. Formerly descriptive notation was standard in English language publications. There are also systems of notation for recording chess positions without the use of diagrams, the most common of which is Forsyth–Edwards Notation (FEN).^[237]
novelty: See theoretical novelty.

O

occupation: Occupation of a rank or file means a rook or queen controls it; occupation of a square means a piece or pawn sits on it.^[238]^[239]
octopus: A strongly positioned knight in enemy territory. A knight on e6 reaches out in eight directions, like the eight tentacles of an octopus.^[240]
odds: This refers to the stronger player giving the weaker player some sort of advantage in order to make the game more competitive. It may be an advantage in material, in extra moves, in time on the clock, or some combination of those elements. Since the advent of the chess clock, time odds have become more common than material odds.^[241]
offhand game: See skittles.
Olympiad: An international team chess tournament organized biennially by FIDE. Each team represents a FIDE member country.
O-O: Also 0-0. The move notation for kingside castling. (PGN format uses Os; FIDE uses 0s.)^[242]
O-O-O: Also 0-0-0. The move notation for queenside castling. (PGN format uses Os; FIDE uses 0s.)^[242]
open file: A file on which there are no pawns. A file on which only one player has pawns is said to be half-open.^[5]
open game: A game in which exchanges have opened files and diagonals, and there are few pawns in the center, as opposed to a closed game.^[243]
Open Game: Any opening that begins with the moves 1.e4 e5. Examples of Open Games include the Ruy Lopez, the Giuoco Piano, the Danish Gambit, and many others. The Open Game is also referred to as a Double King's Pawn Opening or Double King's Pawn Game.
opening: The beginning phase of the game, roughly the first dozen moves, but it can extend much farther. In the opening players set up their pawn structures, develop their pieces, and usually castle. The opening precedes the middlegame.^[243]
opening innovation: A synonym for theoretical novelty.
opening preparation: Home study and analysis of openings and defenses that one expects to play, or meet, in later tournament or match games. In high-level play, an important part of this is the search for theoretical novelties that improve upon previous play or previously published analysis.^[244]
opening repertoire: The set of openings played by a particular player. The breadth of different players' repertoires varies from very narrow to very broad.^[245]
opening system: An opening that is defined by one player's moves and that can be played generally regardless of the moves of the opponent, with the goal of reaching a desired type of middlegame position. Sometimes several different move orders are possible. Examples include the Colle System and Hippopotamus Defence.^[246]
open lines: noun. Unobstructed files and diagonals. See also open game. verb. To move or exchange pawns to bring about unobstructed files and diagonals.
open tournament: A tournament where anyone can enter, regardless of rating or invitation.^[247] Cf. closed tournament.
opposite-colored bishops: See bishops on opposite colors.
opposition: A situation in which two kings stand on the same rank, file or diagonal with one empty square between them. The player to move may be forced to move the king to a less advantageous square. Opposition is a particularly important concept in endgames.^[248] Cf. corresponding squares.
optimal play: See Best response. Both sides playing their best move at each turn, or one of equally good alternatives. One side tries to win as quickly as possible while the other side tries to delay it as long as possible, or optimal play may result in a draw. Cf. Solved game#Perfect play.
OTB: An abbreviation for over the board.^[249]
outpost: An outpost is a square protected by a pawn that is in or near the enemy's stronghold. Outposts are a favorable position from which one can launch an attack, particularly using a knight.^[250]
outside passed pawn: A passed pawn near the edge of the board and not in the path of threats from the opponent's pawns. In the endgame, such a pawn can constitute a strong advantage, because it threatens to promote, and it also diverts the opponent's forces to restrain its advance.^[251]
overextended: An overextended position results when a player has advanced pawns too far into his opponent's side without sufficient support. The premature advance can leave weaknesses in the player's camp or the advanced pawns themselves may be weak ("overextended pawns").^[252]
overloaded: A piece that has too many defensive duties. An overloaded piece can sometimes be deflected, or required to abandon one of its defensive duties.^[253]
overprotection: The strategy of protecting an important pawn or square more than is apparently necessary. This serves to dissuade the opponent from attacking that point, and the latent power of the "over protectors" assembled around an important point, is a significant threat that can bear fruit at a small tactical change in the position. Aron Nimzowitsch coined the term and was a proponent of overprotection.^[254]
over the board: 1. A game played face-to-face with the opponent, as opposed to a remote opponent as in online chess or correspondence chess.; 2. Analysis carried out during a game in real time (not necessarily a face-to-face game) as opposed to during preparation. Finding accurate moves over the board is harder than finding them with computer assistance in one's own time. "I looked up the gambit Smith played and there's a line that refutes it, but I couldn't find it over the board."^[249]; Abbr. OTB.
overworked: A synonym for overloaded.^[255]

P

P: Symbol used for the pawn when recording chess positions in English. Also used for the pawn when recording chess moves in descriptive notation.
pairing: The assignment of opponents in a tournament. The most common pairing methods used in chess tournaments are round-robin and the Swiss system.^[256]
passed pawn: A pawn that has no pawn of the opposite color on its file or on any adjacent files on its way to queening.^[199]
passer: A passed pawn.^[257]
passive: Describes a piece or pawn that is inactive and able to move to or control relatively few squares, or a position without possibilities for attack. or counterplay.^[254] Antonym: active.
passive sacrifice: The sacrifice of a piece, by moving a different piece, leaving the sacrificed piece under attack.
pattern recognition: A part of chess thinking that involves remembering and recognizing certain recurring aspects large and small, visual and dynamic. It is a kind of thinking that gives an advantage to a player with great experience. It is distinct from the intellectual activity of calculation. It uses intuitive thinking that is familiar to humans, but is foreign to computers. It can be developed by studying chess puzzles. It has been studied by Adriaan de Groot, and other scientists, who have attempted to discover how chess players think.^[258]^[259]
patzer: A weak chess player (from German: patzen, "to bungle").^[260] See also woodpusher.
pawn
pawn and move: A type of odds game, common in the 18th and 19th centuries, in which the superior player plays Black and begins the game with one of their pawns, usually the king bishop pawn, removed from the board; plus White gets an extra move at the start.^[261]
pawn break: A pawn move that attacks an enemy pawn in order to open up lines and/or challenge the opponent's pawn structure. See also break.
pawn center: Or pawn centre. A player's pawns in the center of the board. Pawns on the squares adjacent to the center may also be considered part of the pawn center. Having a strong pawn center was considered absolutely essential until the hypermodernist school introduced some new ideas.^[262]See King's Indian Defence, Four Pawns Attack for an example of an opening leading to an extended pawn center.
pawn chain: Two or more pawns of the same color diagonally linked. A pawn chain’s weakest point is the base, because it is not protected by another pawn.^[254] See also pawn structure.
pawn island: A group of pawns of one color on consecutive files with no other pawns of the same color on an adjacent file. A pawn island consisting of one pawn is an isolated pawn.^[263]
pawn majority: See majority.
pawn race: A situation where both opponents are pushing a passed pawn in effort to be first to promote.
pawn roller: Two connected passed pawns. "Roller" refers to their ability to defend one another as they advance toward promotion.
pawn skeleton: See pawn structure.
pawn storm: An attacking technique where a group of pawns on one wing is advanced to break up the defense.^[264]
pawn structure: The placement of the pawns during the course of a game. As pawns are the least mobile of the pieces and the only pieces unable to move backwards, the position of the pawns greatly influences the character of the game.^[265]
PCA: An abbreviation for the Professional Chess Association.
performance rating: A number reflecting the approximate rating level at which a player performed in a particular tournament or match. It is often calculated by adding together the player's performances in each individual game, using the opponent's rating for a draw, adding 400 points to the opponent's rating for a win, and subtracting 400 points from the opponent's rating for a loss, then dividing by the total number of games. For example, a player who beat a 2400-rated player, lost to a 2600, drew a 2500, and beat a 2300, would have a performance rating of 2550 (i.e. 2800 + 2200 + 2500 + 2700, divided by 4).^[266]
perpetual check: When a player puts the opponent in check, and the check could be repeated endlessly, the game will be declared a draw by repetition. The expression is often shortened to perpetual. This tactic can be resorted to as a form of insurance in a losing position.^[267]
PGN: An abbreviation for Portable Game Notation.^[268]
Philidor position: Usually refers to an important chess endgame that illustrates a drawing technique when the defender has a king and rook versus a king, rook, and pawn. It is also known as the third rank defense, because of the importance of the rook on the third rank cutting off the opposing king. It was analyzed by Philidor in 1777.^[269] See also Rook and pawn versus rook endgame.
piece: 1. One of the chessmen or figures used to play the game—king, queen, rook, bishop, knight or pawn. Each piece type has its own rules of movement on the board. This is the definition used in the context of the rules of chess, for example the touched piece rule.; 2. When annotating or discussing chess games, the term "piece" usually excludes pawns. It may be used collectively for all "non-pawns", for example "White's pieces are well posted". In some contexts, it may refer specifically to a minor piece, for example "I hung a piece" or "I sacrificed a piece for two pawns".^[270]
pin: When a piece is attacked but cannot legally move, because doing so would expose the player’s own king to the attack; or when a piece is attacked and can legally move out of the line of attack, but such a move would expose a more valuable piece (or an unprotected piece) to capture.^[230] See absolute pin and relative pin.
plan: A strategy employed in a specific position to optimize a player's advantages while minimizing the impact of positional disadvantages.
playable: Said of an opening, a position, or move that gives the person playing it a tenable position.^[271]
play by hand: To make a move intuitively and without analyzing the move.^[272]
ply: Term mainly used in computer chess to denote one play of either White or Black. Thus equal to half a move.
poisoned pawn: An unprotected pawn that, if captured, causes positional problems or material loss.^[263]
Poisoned Pawn Variation: Any of several opening variations, the best-known of these being in the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defence, in which there is a poisoned pawn.^[273]
Portable Game Notation: This is a popular computer-processible ASCII format for recording chess games (both the moves and related data).^[268] Abbr. PGN.
positional play: Play based on strategy, on gaining and exploiting small advantages, and on analyzing the larger position, rather than calculating the more immediate tactics.^[263]
positional player: A player who specializes in positional play, as distinguished from a tactician.
positional sacrifice: A sacrifice in which the lost material is not regained via a combination, but instead gains positional compensation. These typically require deep positional understanding and are often overlooked by computers. Also known as a true sacrifice, as opposed to a pseudo sacrifice or sham sacrifice.
post-mortem: Analysis of a game after it has concluded, typically by one or both players and sometimes with spectators (kibitzers) contributing as well. A player who has just lost the game thanks to a dubious move has the chance to win the post-mortem by finding a better one.^[263]
preparation: See opening preparation.
prepared variation: A well-analyzed novelty in the opening that is not published but first used against an opponent in competitive play.^[274]
Principle of two weaknesses: A technique of increasing one's advantage by causing the opponent, who has one weakness, to have a second weakness. Even if both weaknesses are minor, the fact of having two, in practice, becomes a major weakness.^[275]
priyome: A Russian term for particular tactics that depend on pawn structure.^[276]
problem-like: An elegant and counterintuitive tactical shot, of the type generally found in chess problems rather than in actual play, can be termed problem-like.
promotion: Advancing a pawn to the eighth rank, converting it to a queen, rook, bishop or knight. Promotion to a piece other than a queen is called underpromotion.^[230]
prophylaxis: A strategy that frustrates and protects against an opponent's plan or tactic for fear of the consequences.^[263] See also blockade, overprotection, and mysterious rook move.
protected passed pawn: A passed pawn that is supported by another pawn.^[277]
pseudo sacrifice: See sham sacrifice.
push: To move a pawn forward (v.), or a pawn move forward (n.).

Q

Q: Symbol used for the queen when recording chess moves in English.^[23]
QGA: The Queen's Gambit Accepted opening.^[278]
QGD: The Queen's Gambit Declined opening.^[279]
QID: The Queen's Indian Defense opening.^[280]
quad: A round-robin style tournament between four players, where each participant plays every other participant once.
queen: 1.; 2. verb. The act of promoting a pawn to a queen.^[78]
queen bishop: Or queen's bishop. The bishop that is on the queenside at the start of the game. It is abbreviated "QB".^[281]
queening: Promotion to a queen. Also called promotion. Rarely used to indicate promotion to a knight, rook, or bishop (i.e. underpromotion) as well.^[199]
queen knight: Or queen's knight. The knight that is on the queenside at the start of the game. The terms queen bishop and queen rook are also used. Sometimes abbreviated "QN", "QB", and "QR", respectively.^[78]
queen pawn: Or queen's pawn. A pawn on the queen's file, i.e. the d-file. Sometimes abbreviated "QP". Also queen rook pawn (QRP), queen knight pawn (QNP), and queen bishop pawn(QBP) for a pawn on the a-, b-, or c-file, respectively.^[78]
queen pawn opening: An opening that begins 1.d4. Also called queen's pawn opening.
queen rook: Or queen's rook. The rook that is on the queenside at the start of the game. The terms queen bishop and queen knight are also used. Sometimes abbreviated "QR", "QB", and "QN", respectively.^[78]
queenside: The side of the board (board-half) the queens are on at the start of the game (the a- through d-file), as opposed to the kingside.^[36] Also called queen's side or queen's wing.
quickplay finish: The same as sudden death.^[282]
quiet move: A move that does not attack or capture an enemy piece.^[283]

R

R: Symbol used for the rook when recording chess moves in English.^[23]
Rabar classification: A system of opening classification codes introduced by Braslav Rabar for Chess Informant. The system was used by Informant publications from 1966 to 1981 but has since been replaced by ECO codes.^[284]
raking bishops: Another term for Horwitz bishops.^[285]
rank: A row of the chessboard. In algebraic notation, ranks are numbered 1–8 starting from White's side of the board; however, players customarily refer to ranks from their own perspectives. For example: White's king and other pieces start on his or her first (or "back") rank, whereas Black calls the same rank the eighth rank; White's seventh rank is Black's second; and so on. If neither perspective is given, White's view is assumed. This relative reference to ranks was formalized in the older descriptive notation.^[286]
rapid chess: A form of chess with reduced time limit, usually 30 minutes per player.
recapture: The capture of an opponent's piece that previously made a capture, and usually played immediately following the opponent's capture move. The capture and recapture occur on the same square, and usually the pieces captured and recaptured have the same value.
refute: To demonstrate that a strategy, move, or opening is not as good as previously thought (often, that it leads to a loss), or that previously published analysis is unsound. A refutation is sometimes colloquially referred to as a bust. A refutation in the context of chess problems or endgame studies is often called a cook.^[287]
related squares: See corresponding squares.
relative pin: A pin where it is legal to move the pinned piece out of the line of attack. Contrast with absolute pin where the pinned piece is not permitted to move because it would expose the king to check.
repertoire: See opening repertoire.
reserve tempo: A move a player has available. Such a move may not be crucial to the position on the board, but being able to force the opponent to move by making a reserve move can on occasion result in a significant advantage.^[288]
resign: To concede loss of the game. A resignation is usually indicated by stopping the clocks, sometimes by offering a handshake, or by saying "I resign". A traditional way to resign was by tipping over one's king, but this is not done nowadays. It is common for a game to be resigned, rather than for it to end with checkmate, because experienced players can foresee the checkmate.^[289]^[290]
resign on time: A player who in a hopeless position intentionally runs out of time to avoid having to resign can be said to have resigned on time. This is usually performed in a more subtle manner than that of Curt von Bardeleben walking out of the tournament hall against Wilhelm Steinitz. A player low on time and in a losing position may simply "forget" to pay any attention to the clock.
Romantic chess: Romantic chess was the style of chess prevalent in the 19th century. It is characterized by bold attacks and sacrifices.^[291]
rook
rook lift: A maneuver that places a rook in front of its own pawns, often on the third or fourth rank. This can allow the rook to treat a half-open file as if it were an open file, or a closed fileas if it were half-open.^[292]
rook pawn: Or rook's pawn. A pawn on the rook's file, i.e. the a-file or h-file. Sometimes abbreviated "RP".^[78]
round-robin tournament: This is a tournament in which each participant plays every other participant an equal number of times. In a double round-robin tournament the participants play each other exactly twice, once with white and once with black. A round robin tournament is commonly used if the number of participants is relatively small.^[293] See also Swiss tournament.
royal fork: A fork threatening the king and queen.^[294]
royal piece: A king or queen.^[78] In chess variants, the term refers to any piece that must be protected from capture; under this definition, only the king is royal in orthodox chess.

S

S: [from German: Springer, "jumper"] Alternate notation for the knight. Used rather than K, which means king.
sac: Short for sacrifice, usually used to describe a sacrifice for a mating attack.^[293]
sacrifice: A move or capture that voluntarily gives up material in return for an advantage such as space, development, or an attack. A sacrifice in the opening is called a gambit, especially when applied to a pawn.^[289]
SAN: An abbreviation for standard (or short) algebraic notation (e.g. 1.Nf3), as opposed to long algebraic notation (e.g. 1.Ng1-f3).
sans voir: [from French] See blindfold chess.
Scholar's mate: A four-move checkmate (common among novices) in which White plays 1.e4, follows with Qh5 (or Qf3) and Bc4, and finishes with 4.Qxf7#.^[161]
score: See game score.
score sheet: The sheet of paper used to record a game in progress. During formal games, it is usual for both players to record the game using a score sheet. A completed score sheet contains the game score.^[169]
sealed move: Lengthy OTB games can be adjourned. To prevent unfair advantage, the players can agree on the next move being secretly recorded in a sealed envelope. Upon resumption, the arbiter makes the sealed move and the game continues. See also Adjournment (games).
second: An assistant hired to help a player in preparation for and during a major match or tournament. The second assists in areas such as opening preparation. The second assisted with adjournment analysis, before the practice of adjournments was abandoned in the 1990s.^[295]
second player: The expression "the second player" is sometimes used to refer to Black.
seesaw: See windmill.
Semi-Closed Game: An opening that begins with White playing 1.d4 and Black replying with a move other than 1...d5. See also Open Game and Closed Game.
Semi-Open Game: An opening that begins with White playing 1.e4 and Black replying with a move other than 1...e5.^[296] Also called a half-open game.^[297]See also Open Game and Closed Game.
sham sacrifice: An offer of material that is made at no risk, as acceptance would lead to the gain of equal or greater material or checkmate. This is in contrast to a true sacrifice in which the compensation is less tangible. Also called a pseudo sacrifice.^[298]
sharp: Risky, double-edged, highly tactical. Sharp can be used to describe moves, maneuvers, positions, and styles of play.^[299]
shot: Slang for an unexpected or sharp move that typically makes a tactical threat or technical challenge for the opponent.
silent move: A move that has a dynamic tactical effect on a position, but that does not capture or attack an enemy piece.^[300]^[301] See also quiet move.
simplification: A strategy of exchanging pieces, often with one of the following goals: as a defensive measure to reduce the size of an attacking force, when having the advantage to reduce the opponent's counterplay, to try to obtain a draw, or as an attempt to gain an advantage by players who are strong in endgame play with simplified positions.^[302] Also called liquidation.
simultaneous chess: A form of chess in which one player plays against several players simultaneously. It is usually an exhibition.^[303]
sitzfleisch: [from German, "sitting flesh"] The ability to sit still.^[304]
skewer: An attack on a valuable piece, compelling it to move to avoid capture and thus expose a less valuable piece which can then be taken.^[305]See also X-ray.
skittles: A casual or "pickup" game, usually played without a chess clock. At chess tournaments, a skittles room is where one goes to play for fun while waiting for the next formal game.^[303]
smothered mate: A checkmate delivered by a knight in which the mated king is unable to escape because it is surrounded (or smothered) by its own pieces.^[306]
Sofia rules: In the tournament played by Sofia rules, players are not allowed to draw by agreement. They could have draws by stalemate, threefold repetition, fifty-move rule, or insufficient material. Other draws are allowed only if the arbiter declares the game reached a drawn position.^[307]
solid: An adjective used to describe a move, opening, or manner of play that is characterized by minimal risk-taking and emphasis on quiet positional play rather than wild tactics.
sortie: A queen development in front of its own pawns, often early in the opening, usually for the purpose of exploiting an advantage in space or punishing an error by the opponent. So called because the queen is usually developed behind its own pawns for its protection.
sound: A correct move or plan. A sound sacrifice has sufficient compensation, a sound opening or variation has no known refutation, and a sound puzzle or composition has no known cooks.^[289] Antonym: unsound.
space: The squares controlled by a player. A player controlling more squares than the other is said to have a spatial advantage.^[289]
Spanish bishop: A white king bishop developed to b5. This is characteristic of the Ruy Lopez, also known as the Spanish Opening.
speed chess: See blitz chess.
spite check: A harmless check given by a player who is about to lose the game, that serves no purpose other than to momentarily delay the defeat.^[308]
squeeze: Making pawn moves that limit mobility, freedom and options for the opponent, typically causing a zugzwang.^[309]
stalemate: A position in which the player whose turn it is to move has no legal move and their king is not in check. A stalemate results in an immediate draw.^[74]
starting square: A piece's starting square is the square it occupies at the beginning of the game.
Staunton chess set: The standard design of chess pieces, required for use in competition.^[310]
stem game: A stem game is the chess game featuring the first use of a particular opening variation. Sometimes, the player or the venue of the stem game is then used to refer to that opening.
strategic crush: Win characterised by gradual accumulation of advantages and complete prevention of counterplay.
strategy: The basis of a player's moves. The evaluation of positions and ways to achieve goals. Strategy is often contrasted with tactics, which are the calculations of more immediate plans and combinations.^[311]
strong: A forceful or good move, a position having good winning chances, a highly rated player or one successful in tournaments, or a tournament having a sizable number of strong players competing, such as grandmasters. A "strong showing" refers to a player's high win ratio in a tournament. Antonym: weak, e.g. a weak square.
stronger side: The side with a material or positional advantage.^[312]
strongpoint: 1. A "strongpoint defense" means an opening that defends and retains a central pawn (White: e4 or d4; Black: e5 or d5), as opposed to exchanging the pawn and relinquishing occupation of that central square.; 2. More generically, a strongpoint can be any square heavily defended.
strong square: A square on a player's 4th or greater rank on which the player can post a piece that cannot or will not be driven away by enemy pawns.^[313] Cf. weak square.
sudden death: The most straightforward time control for a chess game: each player has a fixed amount of time available to make all moves. See also fast chess.
support point: A square that cannot be attacked by a pawn, and that can be occupied as a home base for a piece, usually a knight.^[311]
swindle: A ruse or trick played from a position that is inferior.^[311]
Swiss tournament: A system used in tournaments to determine pairings. In every round each player is paired with an opponent with the same or similar score.^[314] See also round-robin tournament.
symmetry: A symmetrical position on the chessboard means the positions of one's pieces are exactly mirrored by the opponent's pieces. This most often occurs when Black mimics White's opening moves. Black is said to break symmetry when they make a move no longer imitating White's move.^[311]
system: See opening system.

T

tabia: [from Arabic: طبيعة ṭabīʕa, "essence"] Also tabiya. In chess openings a tabia is a key point. It may be a well-known “point of departure” where variations branch off, it may be a position that is reached so often that the real game begins after this initial series of book moves.^[316]^[317]
tablebase: See endgame tablebase.
tactician: A player who specializes in tactical play, as distinguished from a positional player.
tactics: Combinations, traps, and threats. Play characterized by short-term attacks, requiring calculation by the players, as distinguished from positional play.^[311]
takeback: Used in casual games whereby both players agree to undo one or more moves.
Tarrasch rule: The general principle that rooks usually should be placed behind passed pawns, either one's own or one's opponent's. Named after Siegbert Tarrasch.^[318]
TD: An abbreviation for tournament director.^[314]
technique: The manner in which a player converts an advantageous position into a win.
tempo: A unit of time considered as one move. A player may gain a tempo in the opening when the opponent moves the same piece twice. In the endgame, one may wish to lose a tempo by triangulation in order to gain the opposition.^[311] Plural: tempos or tempi.
tension: A position in which there are one or more exchanges possible, such as a pair of pawns facing each other on a diagonal where either can capture the other, is said to contain tension. Such a situation differs from a threat in that it does not need to be immediately resolved – for example, if both pawns are defended. The consequences of resolving the tension must be constantly considered by both players, in case there is a possibility of winning or losing material. This makes calculating the best move more complicated, and so there is a natural temptation to release the tension by making a like-for-like exchange (see simplification) or by moving the attacked piece. To keep the tension is to avoid resolving it, which is sometimes good advice depending on the position.
text move: This term is used in written analysis of chess games to refer to a move actually played in the game as opposed to other possible moves. Can be shortened to "text", for example "The text is inferior as it allows ...f5". Text moves are usually in bold whereas analysis moves are not.
thematic: Suited to the demands of the position. The term "thematic move" is often applied to the key move of a thematic plan.^[319]
theme tournament: A chess tournament in which every game must begin with a particular opening specified by the organizers, for example the Budapest Gambit (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5).
theoretical draw: See book draw.
theoretical novelty: A move in the opening that has not been played before.^[320] Abbr. TN or N.
threat: A plan or move that carries an intention to damage the opponent's position. A threat is a tactical weapon that must be defended against.^[321]
threefold repetition: A draw may be claimed if the same position occurs three times with the same player to move; and with each player having the choice of the same set of moves each time, including the right to capture en passant and the right to castle.^[322]
tiebreaks: See Tie-breaking in Swiss-system tournaments. This refers to a number of different systems that are used to break ties, and thus designate a single winner, where multiple players or teams tie for the same place in a Swiss system chess tournament.
time: 1. In chess "time" refers to the amount of time each player has to think and calculate as measured by a chess clock.; 2. The number of moves to complete an objective; for example, if a king is racing to stop a pawn from queening, and the king has too few moves, that may be referred to as "not enough time".^[311] See also tempo.
time control: The allowed time to play a game, usually measured by a chess clock. A time control can require either a certain number of moves be made per time period (e.g. 40 moves in 2½ hours) or it can limit the length of the entire game (e.g. 5 minutes per game for blitz). Hybrid schemes are used, and time delay controls have become popular since the widespread use of digital clocks.^[83]
time delay: A time control that makes it possible for a player to avoid having an ever-decreasing amount of time remaining (as is the case with sudden death). The most important time delays in chess are Bronstein delay and Fischer delay.
time pressure: Also called time trouble. Having very little time on one's clock (especially less than five minutes) to complete one's remaining moves. See time control.
TN: An abbreviation for theoretical novelty.
top board: See first board.
touched piece rule: Also called touch-move rule. The rule that requires a player who touches a piece to move that piece unless the piece has no legal moves. If a player moves a piece to a particular square and takes their hand off it, the move must be to that square if it is a legal move. Castling must be initiated by moving the king first, so a player who touches their rook may be required to move the rook, without castling. The rule also requires a player who touches an opponent's piece to capture it if possible. In order to adjust the position of a piece within its square without being required to move it, the player should say "J'adoube" or "I adjust".^[321]
tournament: A competition involving more than two players or teams, generally played at a single venue (or series of venues) in a relatively short period of time. A tournament is divided into rounds, with each round consisting either of individual games or matches in the case of knockout tournaments and team tournaments. The assignment of opponents is called pairing, with the most popular systems being round-robin and Swiss. Tournaments are usually referred to by combining the city in which they were played with the year, as in "London 1851", although there are well-known exceptions, such as "AVRO 1938".
tournament book: A book recording the scores of all the games in a tournament, usually with analysis of the best or most important games and some background on the event and its participants. One well-known example is Bronstein's Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953. The less comprehensive tournament bulletin is usually issued between the rounds of a prestigious event, giving the players and world media an instant record of the games of the previous round. Individual copies may be bundled together at the conclusion of the event to provide an inexpensive alternative to the tournament book.^[323]
tournament director: Organizer and arbiter of a tournament, responsible for enforcing the tournament rules and the laws of chess. Abbr. TD. Also tournament controller [chiefly British].
trade: See exchange.
transposition: Arriving at a position using a different sequence of moves.^[151]
trap: A move that may tempt the opponent to play a losing move.^[324] See also swindle and List of chess traps.
trébuchet: A theoretical position of mutual zugzwang in which either player would lose if it were their turn to move.^[325] [from French, a type of siege engine]
triangulation: A technique used in king and pawn endgames (less commonly seen with other pieces) to lose a tempo and gain the opposition.^[326]
tripled pawns: Three pawns of the same color on the same file; considered a weakness due to their inability to defend each other.^[327]
Troitsky line: Also Troitzky line. Endgame analysis by Alexey Troitsky of two knights versus a pawn found certain pawn positions that result in win, draw or loss. The resulting pawn positions on each file form what is known as the Troitsky line or Troitsky position.^[328]
two bishops: A synonym for bishop pair.^[329] Also called the two bishops.

U

undermining: A tactic (also known as removal of the guard) in which a defensive piece is captured, leaving one of the opponent's pieces undefended or underdefended.^[330]
underpromotion: Promoting a pawn to a rook, bishop, or knight instead of a queen. Rarely seen unless the knight can deliver a crucial check, or when promotion to a rook or a bishop instead of a queen is necessary to avoid stalemate.^[230]
United States Chess Federation: This is a nonprofit organization, the governing chess organization within the United States, and one of the federations of the FIDE. Abbr. USCF.
unorthodox opening: See irregular opening.
unpinning: The act of breaking a pin by interposing a second piece between the attacker and the target. This allows the piece that was formerly pinned to move.
unsound: Antonym of sound.
USCF: An abbreviation for the United States Chess Federation.

V

vacating sacrifice: A sacrifice made for the purpose of clearing a square for a different piece of the same color.
valve: A move that opens one line and closes another.
variant: See chess variant.
variation: 1. A sequence of moves or an alternative line of play, often applied to the opening. A variation does not have to have been played in a game, it may also be a possibility that occurs only in analysis.^[324] Also called continuation.; 2. The word Variation is also used to name specific sequences of moves within an opening. For an example, the Dragon Variation is part of the Sicilian Defence.^[79]
vertical line: See file.

W

waiting move: A move that makes no threats except that it puts the obligation to move on the opponent. A waiting move is effective when the opponent has nothing but bad moves available (i.e. is in zugzwang).^[331]
WCC: An abbreviation for the World Chess Championship.^[332]
weakness: A pawn or square that can be attacked and is hard to defend.^[333]
weak square: A square that cannot be easily defended from attack by an opponent. Often a weak square is unable to be defended by pawns (a hole) and can be theoretically occupied by a piece. Exchange or loss of a bishop may make all squares of that bishop's color weak resulting in a "weak square complex" on the light squares or the dark squares.^[334]
WFM: An abbreviation for the Woman FIDE Master title.^[335]
WGM: An abbreviation for the Woman Grandmaster title.^[335]
white: The light-colored squares on the chessboard are often referred to as "the white squares" even though they often are some other light color. Similarly, "the white pieces" are sometimes actually some other (usually light) color.^[38] See also black.
White: The designation for the player who moves first, even though the corresponding pieces, referred to as "the white pieces", are sometimes actually some other (usually light) color. See also Black and first-move advantage.
WIM: An abbreviation for the Woman International Master title.^[336]
win: A victory for one of the two players in a game, which may occur due to checkmate, resignation by the other player, the other player exceeding the time control, or the other player being forfeited by the tournament director. Chess being a zero-sum game, this results in a loss for the other player. In a tournament a bye may be scored as a win.^[337] See winning position.
windmill: A combination in which two pieces work together to deliver an alternating series of checks and discovered checks in such a way that the opposing king is required to move on each turn. It is a potent technique, since, on every other move, the discovered check may allow the non-checking piece to capture an enemy piece without losing a tempo. The most famous example is Torre–Lasker, Moscow 1925.^[338] Also called a seesaw.
wing: The queenside a-, b-, and c-files; or the kingside f-, g-, and h-files.^[339] Also called flank.
Wing Gambit: The name given to variations of several openings in which one player gambits a wing pawn, usually the b-pawn.^[340]
winning percentage: A number calculated by adding together the number of games won and half of the number of games drawn, (ignoring the losses) then dividing that total by the total number of games that were played. Another way of calculating the winning percentage is by taking the percentage of games won by a player plus half the percentage of drawn games. Thus, if out of 100 games a player wins 40 percent, draws 32 percent, and loses 28 percent, the winning percentage is 40 plus half of 32, i.e. 56 percent.^[341]
winning position: A position is said to be a winning if one specified side, with correct play, can eventually force a checkmate against any defense (i.e. perfect defense).^[342] Also called a won game.
Woman FIDE Master: A women-only chess title ranking below Woman International Master.^[335] Abbr. WFM.
Woman Grandmaster: The highest ranking gender-restricted chess title except for Women's World Champion.^[335] Abbr. WGM.
Woman International Master: A women-only chess title ranking below Woman Grandmaster and above Woman FIDE Master.^[335] Abbr. WIM.
won game: See winning position.
wood: Slang for pieces. "A lot of wood came off the board" conveys that several piece exchanges occurred.^[82]
woodpusher: A weak chess player, also referred to as a patzer or duffer. Colloquial, typically derogatory.^[343]
World Champion: A winner of the World Chess Championship.^[332]
wrong-colored bishop: See wrong rook pawn.^[344]
wrong rook pawn: With a bishop, a rook pawn may be the wrong rook pawn, depending on whether or not the bishop controls its promotion square.^[345]

X

X-ray: When the power of a piece, either to attack or to defend, seems to pass through an intervening enemy piece. The X-ray attack, also known as a skewer, involves two pieces of the same color both caught in the same line of attack along a diagonal, rank, or file. The attacking piece forces the first and more valuable piece to move out of the way, which allows the second piece to be captured. As a defensive tactic the X-ray occurs when one piece is defended by another piece, through an attacking enemy piece standing between the two.^[346]

Z

zeitnot: [from German, "time crisis"] Having very little time on the clock to complete the remaining moves of a timed game.^[347] Synonyms: time pressure and time trouble.
Zonal tournaments: Tournaments organised by FIDE, the first qualifying cycle of the World Chess Championship. Each zonal tournament features top players of a certain geographical zone. Up until 1993 the winners went on to Interzonal tournaments. This was replaced by a system where the winners now play each other in knockout-style competitions to determine who goes on to the Candidates Tournament.^[348]
zugzwang: [from German, "compulsion to move"] When a player is put at a disadvantage by having to make a move; where any legal move weakens the position. Zugzwang usually occurs in the endgame, and rarely in the middlegame.^[349]
zwischenschach: [from German, "in-between check"] Playing a surprising check that your opponent didn’t consider when he was plotting a sequence of moves; a zwischenzug that is a check.^[350]
zwischenzug: [from German, "in-between move"] An "inbetween" move, or an intermezzo, played before an expected reply. Often, but not always, this involves responding to a threat by posing an even greater threat, forcing the opponent to respond to the threat first.^[351]

Glossary of Chess - Part 2

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O

P

Q

R

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T

U

V

W

X

Z

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