Questions tagged [terminology]
Questions about the particular terminology used in chess
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Where does the term 'fianchetto' come from?
I know what a fianchetto is, developing a bishop on the 2nd/7th ranks on the long diagonals. But how did the word 'fianchetto' come into play as a chess term?
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"Unclear" becoming outdated?
It was the Chess Informant who gave us "∞ - position unclear" (as we all know, a position can only be won, lost or drawn ;-). Now that we have super-strong computers, I expect that ∞ will ...
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How exactly does bidding in armageddon chess work?
When discussing armageddon chess, I've seen the term "bidding" being used a lot. I understand the following:
"In bidding armageddons, players usually communicate privately how much time ...
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Term to distinguish between two categories of illegal positions
Consider these two categories of illegal positions. First, e.g.:
Not having exactly one King of each color
Both Kings being in check
Pawns on the first or eighth ranks
Second, e.g.:
Having more ...
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"Safe advantage" and "unsafe advantage"
By a safe advantage, I mean it is easy for the side with the advantage to keep it. Winning the game is extremely likely under normal conditions. Example: KQ vs KN is a very safe advantage.
By an ...
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What does "end with an empty board" mean?
I got this statement from Fundamental Chess Openings by Paul van der Sterren, and I don't understand what it means to end up with an empty board:
However, since the human brain and even the computer ...
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What makes an opening move the "mainline"?
After 1.e4 c6, 2. d4 d5, the move 3. Nc3 is called the "mainline". According to lichess's database, the move 3. e5 has been played more than 3. Nc3, both by masters and by non-masters. This ...
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Why do all e4-c5 variations only have a single name (Sicilian Defence)?
I was wondering why e4-e5 openings have different names depending on the next move, but Sicilian Defence continuations are all just variations of the Sicilian Defence. Is that because they are ...
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Where does the term “cook” originate?
What is the origin of the term “cooked” for a chess problem with an additional, unintended solution?
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Confused about the central and side pawns - which are which?
We all know that the "center" comprises of the four squares that are in the very middle of the board - d4, d5, e4, e5.
Keeping this in mind, which are the central pawns, exactly, apart from ...
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What does the "GMS" abbreviation mean here?
I was wondered what the abbrevation meant here.
https://ratings.fide.com/profile/2027895/chart
"Period RTNG GMS RAPID RTNG RAPID GMS BLITZ RTNG BLITZ GMS"
From the context it seems a ...
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How does centipawn scoring work?/Why is a higher (positive) score horrible while a lower score is better?
I'm a total beginner in Chess. I've known the basic rules for at least 20 years, but have never played it somewhat serious. Only toddler-level.
I recently started trying to learn how to play properly. ...
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When did the term "tabiya" start being used by players?
I was surprised to learn that the word "Tabiya" comes from the Arabic language. I know of no other Arabic terms in chess and know that most of its terminology is Russian or Yiddish: E.G. ...
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What is the difference between Blackmar Gambit and Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, or are they the same?
365Chess lists the move order 1. d4 d5 2. e4 as Blackmar Gambit But the same move order is named as Blackmar-Diemer Gambit on chesstempo.]2. Which of these is more reliable (or correct)?
The reason ...
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What is the Botez gambit?
A friend of mine told me about this term used when you lose your queen, the Botez gambit, named after Alexandra Botez. It seems this term has arrived to casual, not necessarily young, (on-line) ...
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Why are capturing key moves "frowned upon"?
Wikipedia's article on Babson tasks says:
However, Yarosh's problem has a small flaw: the key is a capture, something which is generally frowned upon in problems.
(The "key" of a chess ...
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What is the name of this mating motif?
Anyone know the name of this motif? I have seen it several times, but never knew the name. Source Polgar 5334 problems.
Can one classify this as a Legal's trap motif due to the famous Queen sacrifice(...
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Is there an equivalent to “a knight on the rim is dim” in other languages?
When explaining chess to beginners, I often use the famous rhyme, “a knight on the rim is dim”. Is there any equivalent (rhyming) phrase in other languages?
I will accept any answer which shows at ...
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When to do minority attack and majority attack?
So I learnt about minority attack few months ago where you push pawns on minority side to create weaknesses on opponents pawn structure but recently I have also been seeing some masters casually ...
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Is a move called a "book move", if it leads to a familar book position but objectively speaking, this move is obviously inferior?
For example, after 1. Nf3 e5?, the move 2. Nxe5 is objectively the best continuation. However, the move 2. e4 leads to a familiar opening position. In this case, do we call 2. e4 a "book move&...
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Meaning of the phrase "the same player has the move"
What is the meaning of the phrase "the same player has the move" in the sentence below
"Two positions are by definition "the same" if the same types of pieces occupy the same ...
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Does this pawn structure arising from the Caro-Kann Advance Variation have a name?
I was looking at some positions arising from the Caro-Kann Advance variation with an early c5 by black, and was wondering if this was a common structure that I could easily find model games for, or ...
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Where does the name of the Guatemalan Defense come from?
I recall reading a story that the Guatemalan Defense (1. ... b6, 2. ... Ba6) is named after a game of correspondence chess that was played between (presumably some chess team representing) Guatemala ...
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What is "Hybrid Chess"?
According to the latest FIDE rating regulations:
2. Laws to be Followed
2.1 Play shall be governed by the FIDE Laws of Chess or the Regulations for Hybrid Chess Competitions
So, "hybrid ...
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Are pawns pieces? [duplicate]
I thought I heard somewhere that pawns are not pieces but just called pawns. Then, I heard from some other places that they are. I think they are but what is the exact definition of a pawn?
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What is the difference between a waiting move and zugzwang?
I can't see the difference between a waiting move and zugzwang.
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Why is 'Elo' sometimes capitalised to 'ELO'? [closed]
Why is 'Elo' as in Elo rating system sometimes capitalised to 'ELO' when it's a last name and not an acronym? I notice people don't say GLICKO, for example.
Some (heavily downvoted) reddit posts:
...
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What is the meaning of 'fighting draw' vs 'draw by theory' in re Chess960?
I remember reading in some YouTube comment that Chess960 will lead to less draws or something. There was a comment response saying that it seems about the same. Then the original commenter replied in ...
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Variant where each pawn promotes according to its file
Somewhere I came across a description of street chess played in India (I think) with a number of non-standard rules. One of them was that when a pawn reaches the 8th rank, it must promote according to ...
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King's Indian Attack - "pet lines"
I am reading about the King's Indian Attack (aka Barcza System), and article says that this system is "rarely used at the highest levels except to avoid certain pet lines". I wonder what are ...
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What is an "ugly" move?
In the video "ugly defense", GM Grigoyan called the move Knight g3-h1 an "ugly move", though objectively speaking, Nh1 may be the best move for white in this position.
[fen "...
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Definition of "theoretical" in chess context
I am a novice who has only picked up my first chess book recently. I want to study some common opening positions, and pick a line to go with & practice for the time being.
While investigating the ...
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Name for the "folding magnetic chess set" variant?
Does anyone know the name of the chessboard variant where you fold a standard board along the line between the d-file and e-file, to get a double-sided 8x4 board? A piece on top can move past the edge ...
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Does this bishop sac when your knight is pinned to your queen have a name?
This is a common tactic in various openings. It goes like this:
A bishop pins your knight to your queen
You sacrifice your bishop with check to attract the king forward
You give a check with your &...
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What are these types of OTB events from the USCF?
Looking into OTB tournaments, I see that the USCF allows you to filter searches for the following types:
Heritage Event
American Classic
Grand Prix
Enhanced Grand Prix
Junior Grand Prix
National ...
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What is a pawn hook?
On my question (Why is 11. .. h6 such a bad move?) someone commented that I should read about the concepts of hooks. One definition that I found was:
A hook is an advanced pawn which can be exploited ...
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What's the etymology behind the Great Snake Variation?
This is called the Modern Defense:
[FEN ""]
1.e4 g6
This is called the Modern Defense:
[FEN ""]
1.d4 g6
This is called the "English Opening: Great Snake Variation":
[...
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Better-known term for "cyclic" zugzwang?
What's the term for a zugzwang position P where
White is winning, with or without the move
White's best way to win from P is to execute a tempo-losing manoeuvre which leads back to P with Black to ...
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What's the etymology behind this chess opening?
This line is called the Brooklyn Variation of Alekhine's Defense:
[FEN ""]
1.e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ng8!?
How did it get its name?
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Is there a name for this mating pattern?
What's the name of the mating pattern starting with the move 21...Ng4!?
[FEN ""]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. d5 e6 4. e4 exd5 5. exd5 d6 6. Nf3 Be7 7. Bb5+ Nbd7 8. a4 O-O 9. O-O b6 10. Bc6 Rb8 ...
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What does columns 1-24 mean?
I was reading Modern Chess Openings by Nick de Firmian, and found "columns 1-24 deals with 2...exf4 " in relation to a theory table. So what does "columns 1-24" mean?
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Is there a term for when each player captures a sequence of pieces without recaptures?
There is a situation that arises occasionally, where each player goes on a rampage through the other player's pieces (often using a queen), never stopping to recapture or defend. It usually ends when ...
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Is there a term for an attack - similar to a pin or skewer - on pieces of equal value?
"Pin" and "skewer" are fairly common terms in chess:
A pin is a situation where a piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece to attack. For example, the Ruy Lopez ...
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Term for checkmate where every participating piece attacks exactly one square around king
I am looking for the term for a checkmate position which is an aesthetic feature for a chess composition. It is closely related to pure mate. I shall say that a piece (incl. pawn) participates in the ...
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What does "control" mean in a chess problem? [duplicate]
When interpreting the instructions to a chess problem, is a piece automatically considered to "control" the square it's on, even if that square isn't threatened by any friendly piece, and an ...
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Abbreviations like 't', 'm', 'zt', 'sf' in chess databases
I am just cleaning up the Event and Site headers in the games in my chess database.
There are a lot of abbreviations there. I am relatively sure about the following:
of, qf, sf and f – octo final, ...
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What does "White is down a rook for a pawn" mean?
I am not a native English speaker and I'm learning to play online chess.
I often find a sentence with this pattern.
White is down a rook for a pawn.
What does it mean? Could you elaborate on this ...
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What is the name of this unconventional opening?
You start by moving the knight's pawn on either side to b3 or g3. Then you do the same on the other side. Ideally, you fianchetto the bishops into both triangle pawn formations.
[FEN ""]
1....
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German chess composition glossary
I'm trying to look through some puzzles at http://www.wenigsteiner.de/, but there are some abbreviations I'm not familiar with that I'm having a hard time finding through Google; I guess they are ...
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Correct definitions of chess terms
We have been assigned a project of writing a simple chess evaluation engine. The engine doesn't play chess and doesn't calculate variations - it just performs a basic static evaluation of input ...
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