A style of play which is "double-edged". Typically, long-term pawn weaknesses may be counterbalanced by piece activity. Dynamism stemmed from the teachings of the 'Hypermodern movement', which challenged the dogma found in more classical teachings, such as those of Wilhelm Steinitz and Siegbert Tarrasch.
The rating system invented by the late Professor Arpad Elo, and used by FIDE since 1970. The system gives a four-figure number which shows how well a player has scored in those games which have been entered into the database. It is an estimate of strength based on results, and is widely used to place players into categories. 2500 and above is grandmaster level.
The stage of the game with few pieces or when queens are exchanged and the middle game is over.
A special method of capturing, only available to a pawn on its fifth rank. See "En passant" rule.
When neither player has an advantage.
May mean:
Developing the bishop at the squares b2, g2, b7 or g7. Also, moving a pawn one square forward to allow this. It is a hallmark of the hypermodern openings: the bishops there do not occupy the centre, but influence it.
"Fédération Internationale des Échecs": the International Chess Federation. The overall governing body of the game.
The game is drawn if 50 moves are played "with no captures and no pawn moves". This is to prevent a player forcing his opponent to play on in a position where no win is possible, yet where three-fold repetition has not happened. The rule is ancient: the Arabic version of the game, Shatranj, had a 70-move rule.
There is an exception to the 50-move rule. There are some positions which require more than 50 moves to win, yet have no captures or pawn moves. They are rare, and many players never see such an event in their lifetime. The circumstance is as follows. Suppose a computer study has shown that a particular position can be won in 58 moves (without pawn moves or captures), but not fewer. This is proved because a computer can try out every alternative. Then the case is published (so FIDE can list it for arbitrators). The cases listed by FIDE in 1988 were:
What FIDE did for these cases was to extend the 50-move rule to 75 moves. However, still more cases were found, many with far more moves needed. At that, FIDE decided to cancel the extension. Now the 50-move rule applies to all games without exception.
Little images of pieces used in diagrams and printed chess scores (moves). Software is available which permits chess authors to compose text with diagrams and figurines. Together with standard symbols, this makes texts available for international sale. For this to apply, the text should have little or no prose, or use a widely understood language like English.
The eight vertical columns on the board, numbered a to h. The phrase "open file" is used when no pawn blocks a file. The phrase "semi-open file" is used when only one pawn blocks a file.
A double attack when one piece, such as a knight, attacks two or three pieces at once.
A method for recording positions. The board is read from a8 to h8, and rank by rank from the black side to the white side. Then the result is written down by hand, putting numbers for blank squares.
Upper case letters (capitals) are used for white pieces; lower case letters for black pieces. * rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR is the starting position.
A chess opening in which a player offers a pawn (or more) for fast development and an attack. Examples:
Grading or rating: a number which indicates how likely one player is to beat another. A competitive ranking list based solely on results.
The situation where a player, in error, moves a piece to where it can be captured without an exchange. For instance, player A. just hung his or her bishop.
A group of players in the early 1920s who had new ideas on openings; and any of the openings they promoted.
The situation where one player is making threats, and his opponent must respond to them. The attacking player is said to "have the initiative" and can often dictate the way the game develops.
Isolated pawns do not have a pawn of the same colour on either of the adjacent files. An Isolated Queens Pawn, or 'IQP' for short, is one of the most common types of Isolated Pawns. Openings with an IQP lead to distinctive <nowiki>middlegame</nowiki> strategies.
Means 'I adjust'; said before adjusting a piece on the board during a game. Usually occurs when a player has made a move, and carelessly left the piece overlapping the square.
Kriegspiel ('War game') is an unorthodox chess game in which the players only know for certain the moves of their own pieces. They have to deduce where the opponent's pieces are by questioning an umpire. It is played on three boards with partitions between them. The umpire sits with the middle board with the true position. Players are permitted to ask two kinds of question. "Can I move here?" and "Are there any?" (meaning pawn captures). The umpire replies accordingly. Checks and captures are announced by the umpire, and provide more clues. The game was invented by Henry Michael Temple (1862–1928).
Chess played with human beings as pieces on a giant board. A spectacle which has been performed since the 15th century. Usually, masters or other celebrities decide the moves, and a steward with a stick instructs the 'pieces' where to move.
Luft, the German word for "air" (sometimes also "space" or "breath"), is sometimes used for a space made by a pawn move. Especially it means a space made for the king to avoid a back rank checkmate.
Queen or rook.
Not a game, but a series of games. Used of team events or a series of games between two players.
Material refers to the chess pieces other than the king, and their respective values. Traditional material values given to the pieces are: Queen (9); Rook (5); Bishop and Knight (3.0); Pawn (1.0), although the values are the subject of substantial discussion.
The part of the game which follows the opening. Plans are formed, based on the position, and put into action.
Bishop or knight.
The method of writing down chess moves. See also Forsyth notation.
The start of the game, about a dozen moves. Openings have names, and extensive theory has been worked out by masters. Traditionally, the opening ends when minor pieces (knights and bishops) have been developed, and players have castled. However, modern openings go much further, into the early middlegame. See development.
A line in a particular opening. For example, in the Sicilian defence there are many different lines which are called variations.
Outpost
A position on the chess board where a piece is close to the enemy but difficult for the opponent to remove. There is no reason it has to be a knight, nor does it have to be protected by a pawn.
Overworked, also known as overloaded, is a tactical weakness in chess where a piece is tasked to defend multiple threats at the same time. In many cases, this results in the overworked piece being unable to move and/or being forced to prioritize which task it can preform in order to mitigate loses.
A situation arising from opposite-side castling. One, or both players, advance their pawns towards their opponent's king. This is usually not done on same-side castling, as advancing the pawns in front of one's own king is generally unsafe.
Checking someone seemingly infinitely, forcing a draw by checking someone indefinitely with no way of avoiding the checks.
When a piece does not move because to do so would expose a more valuable piece to capture. Pins against the king are absolute because it is illegal to move the pinned piece.
Play dominated by long-term manoeuvring, not short-term attacks and threats. It needs judgement more than calculation. The term is contrasted with tactics.