36
votes
Accepted
How is "fianchetto" really pronounced?
While I'm not sure exactly how "fēənˈketō" would be pronounced (I'm not a native English speaker), that's more correct as to the pronunciation of the "ch" (following the Italian pronunciation).
The ...
34
votes
Accepted
Is there an equivalent to “a knight on the rim is dim” in other languages?
German
Ein Springer am Rand bringt Kummer und Schand.
= (lit.): A knight on the rim brings sorrow and shame.
- 446
33
votes
Accepted
What does "White is down a rook for a pawn" mean?
It means that white is down a rook, and up a pawn compared to black. So black has one more rook than white, and white has one more pawn than black
- 538
31
votes
Accepted
What are "full piece" and "half piece" in chess?
blundering a full piece
or
being a full piece down
are typical expressions in English chess literature.
With the little word "full", the author wants to make clear that the player has not ...
- 5,878
30
votes
Are pawns pieces?
I think a "piece" in the chess context is typically shorthand for the more specific terms of a "minor piece" (Knights and bishops) or a "major piece" (Rooks and Queens).
...
- 702
29
votes
How is "fianchetto" really pronounced?
According to Wikipedia:
In chess, the fianchetto (/ˌfiænˈtʃɛtoʊ/; Italian:
[fjaŋˈketto] "little flank") is a pattern of development ...
Hence English speakers pronounce the "ch" as in "chess" ...
- 88k
28
votes
How to describe two knights defending each other?
They're connected knights.
As the other answers said, this isn't typically that smart a thing for knights. OTOH, rooks are very often made stronger by connecting them (it allows them to thwart any ...
- 681
27
votes
What is the Bongcloud opening?
The Bongcloud opening is a joke opening that is meant to give your opponent a chance, and also it is meant to show contempt for your opponent. You play it because you think you are much stronger than ...
- 32.3k
25
votes
Accepted
What is an "ugly" move?
An "ugly move" is one which violates positional principles. Here the knight on g3 attacks / defends 6 squares - h5, f5, e4, e2, f1 and h1. On h1 it only attacks/ defends 2 squares - g3 and ...
- 88k
23
votes
Accepted
What does it mean to play "positionally", and how do you train that?
There are three general types of players: Positional, tactical, and universal, which is being adept and comfortable in both positional and tactical games. Tactical means that you love open positions ...
- 32.3k
21
votes
Accepted
What does it mean to call a line "sharp"?
A sharp position is one where every move is critical and any mistake could be your last; in such positions basic principles take a back seat to calculation. The opposite of a sharp position is a calm ...
21
votes
Accepted
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&...
- 88k
19
votes
Definition of "theoretical" in chess context
What would theoretical mean, in this context?
It basically means that in this line you will live or die by the sword. It means that there has been a lot of analysis, mostly done by computer engines. ...
- 88k
18
votes
Does "juicer" mean bishop?
Does “juicer” mean bishop?
This YouTube video of Hikaru playing the Beth Harmon bot gives some clues.
First, at 3:06 he says "I think I can just throw in a juicer check" and indicates a ...
- 88k
18
votes
Accepted
Definition of "theoretical" in chess context
In the Najdorf, there are some lines that need absolute precision. If one side does not know the "theoretical" move and plays something else, then they will most likely end up losing. ...
- 1,840
17
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning of "dead draw"?
A dead draw is a position in which no player has any chance of winning.
Sometimes erroneously used in a position where theoretically someone could win but both players believe it is so basic and ...
- 2,175
17
votes
Accepted
What is a pawn hook?
Here's a position from one of my games. I'm playing White versus a master:
[FEN "r2qk1nr/pp2bp2/2p1p2p/3pPnp1/1P6/P1N2N2/2P2PPP/R1BQR1K1 b kq - 0 11"]
[White "D M"]
1... g4
This ...
- 17.3k
17
votes
Is there an equivalent to “a knight on the rim is dim” in other languages?
Russian
Конь на краю — позор на голову твою.
Literally, "a knight on the rim is a shame onto your head".
Transliterated: "kon' na krayu — pozor na golovu tvoyu".
The Russian ...
- 271
17
votes
Accepted
Why are capturing key moves "frowned upon"?
I think that the feeling with regard to starting with a capture could expressed by saying that such a move is vulgar, This may or may not worry you
ADDED IN RESPONSE TO OP
Well, it depends on what you ...
- 7,741
16
votes
Accepted
What is a fortress in chess?
A fortress in chess is a position in where the weaker side defends by making waiting moves, and where the stronger side cannot make any progress as long as the defender does not make a crazy move. A ...
- 7,758
16
votes
What does it mean to play "positionally", and how do you train that?
I think of game time decisions as yin-yang of tactics vs strategy (or positional play). In that order, tactics are the move-by-move calculations with the aim of achieving material gains (or preventing ...
- 1,014
16
votes
Accepted
Is there a word to count one moving by one player?
There is indeed such a word for so called "half-moves." The terminology used is the word ply. To speak of multiple ply, plies is used. One would refer to the move "e4" as the first ...
- 16.6k
16
votes
What is meant by openings with lot of theory versus those with little or none?
In chess, "opening theory" or just "theory" means "established opening lines": usually lines that have been studied and judged to lead to more or less equal positions, ...
- 426
16
votes
Is there an equivalent to “a knight on the rim is dim” in other languages?
In French, I have heard "Cavalier au bord, cavalier mort" ("a knight on the rim is a dead knight").
- 261
15
votes
Accepted
How does the "French Defense, Winawer Variation, Fingerslip Variation" get its name?
According to "The Batsford Guide to Chess Openings" by Leonard Barden and Tim Harding:
"This move had its introduction into master play as the result of a fingerslip by Alekhine against Flohr, at ...
- 4,147
15
votes
How to describe two knights defending each other?
I've seen the term "redundant knights". In general, redundant pieces are pieces can get in each other's way. Here's a quote I could find about the general principle, but not specifically ...
- 10.4k
15
votes
Accepted
How did the Fried Liver Attack get its name?
From the Wikipedia article on the Fried Liver,
Italian way of cooking liver ("Fegatello" means to put the liver in a
net and cook it over a fire, or, in modern times, in a pan. Here we
can see ...
- 3,953
15
votes
What do DTM, DTZ, DTC, DTR, DTZ50, and DTZR mean?
In various endgame tablebases, the terms mean as follows:
Depth to Mate. For each position that is represented, 'DTM' indicates the theoretical value, and the number of winner's moves to 'Mate' if ...
- 3,811
15
votes
Is there a word to count one moving by one player?
The word for one move by one player is "move". This is the term used in FIDE's laws of chess.
The exception is when referring to the move counts in chess notation, where "move" ...
- 159
15
votes
Accepted
What defines the name of a gambit?
There is no general rule in naming openings or opening lines in general or gambits. Sometimes it’s the inventor, sometimes the place they lived, they were born, they played the line the first time, ...
- 1,725
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