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Chess Glossary |
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Abandon: To
give up the game.
Absolute Pin:
A piece that is at a halt
because moving it would place the King in check.
Activity: The
quality of a Chess position that describes mobility
or freedom of movement for
pieces.
Action: Also
known as Quick Chess Tournament. Here, the game
times less than 30 minutes per side to complete
each game.
Adjournment:
The postponement of the
unfinished game. In such situation, the player on
the move seals his/her next move in an envelope
only to be opened when the game resumes.
Adjust: Touching
a piece without the intention of making a move.
Algebraic Notation:
Process of recording
the moves of the chess game where each square has
a designated name.
Annotation:
Written or narrative comments
about a position or a game.
Attack: Aggressive
move to capture opponent’s piece.
Backrank Mate:
A checkmate made by a Queen
or Rook along the 8th rank where the opponent's
King is blocked in by its own Pawns.
Backward Pawn:
A Pawn that cannot be protected
and supported by other Pawns. It is considered
as a weakness in a chess position because it cannot
be protected.
Bad Bishop:
A bishop whose movement
is restricted by friendly pawns.
Bishop: It is
one of the six chess pieces. Each player is given
two bishops at the start of the game. The bishop
can move to any number of squares along a diagonal
but is confined to squares of a single color
for the entire game.
Bishop Pair:
Two Bishops vs. a Bishop and a Knight or two Knights
Two bishops are effective together because
they control diagonals of both colors, and work
very well in open positions.
Blitz: A game,
which is played with great speed usually clocked
with 15 minutes.
Blockade: A situation
where a piece is prevented from advancing by an
opposing piece.
Blunder: A bad
move in which a tactical response is overlooked.
Break: A pawn
move that proposes a pawn trade in order to increase
space or relieve a cramped position.
Breakthrough:
Infiltration to the enemy’s position.
Brilliant: A
game, which has originality, innovation, and creativity.
Capture: A piece
is moved to a space occupied by an enemy chessman,
the previous occupant is captured, and
eliminated from play.
Castling: A special
move done for the protection of a king. It is an
only move wherein two pieces can move simultaneously.
Central: The
four central squares in the middle of the board.
Check: Attacking
the opponent’s king.
Checkmate: Trapping
the king of the opposite side.
Chessclock: A
special clock used in timed chess.
Combination:
A forced set of moves that help, which helps the
initiator of moves to gain success in the
game.
Cramped: A chess
position that obstructs the freedom of movement
for pieces behind pawns of the
same color.
Development:
Method of moving the piece from their original squares
to strategic positions where they can aid
the player more effectively.
Double Attack:
A move of aggression on an enemy piece by two friendly
pieces at the same time.
Double Check:
An attack that checks the king with two pieces.
The only way to escape a double check is for the
King to move.
Dislodging maneuver:
A tactful move to upset a defensive position.
Double Pawns:
When the two Pawns of the same color are lined up
on a file.
Draw: When neither
of the sides wins or loses
ECO: Encyclopedia
of Chess Openings. It is a collection of texts detailing
the moves of common Chess opening lines with
commentary.
Endgame: Also
known as ending. It is the third and final state
of the game after the opening and middlegame,
characterized by the relatively few Chessmen on
the board.
Escape Square:
It is a square to which the King can flee if he
is under attack. Also known as giving.
Echos: Two functionally
similar positions on the same board one the mirror
image of the other, due to the arrangement of the
opponent’s pieces being effectively symmetrical.
This allows the same attack to be made
down either side of the board
Elo Rating: An
internationally accepted mathematical system for
ranking chess players, devised by Arpad Elo. The
Elo rating is the foundation for the award of FIDE
titles.
Endgame: The
last phase of the game when there are few pieces
left on the board. The endgame generally starts
after queens have been exchanged or when the immediate
goal is to promote a pawn.
En passant: In
French it refers to "in passing." It happens when
a pawn moves two squares from its starting
position, and passes an enemy pawn that has advanced
to its fifth rank.
Exposed check:
When check is achieved indirectly. Most commonly,
the piece that moves ends up in a position such
that it guards the enemy king. But, if instead,
the piece that moves gets out of the way so that
some other piece guards the king, check has been
exposed.
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