Chess terms

Arabian Mate

Arabian Mate: a mating pattern that traps the king by removing escape squares.

Back-Rank Mate

Back-Rank Mate: a mating pattern that traps the king by removing escape squares.

Backward Pawn

Backward Pawn: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Bad Bishop

Bad Bishop: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Bähr Rule

A practical pawn-endgame rule for judging whether a king can stop a distant passed pawn.

Battery

Battery: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Bishop

Bishop: a piece (or piece family) and its typical role on the board.

Boden's Mate

Boden's Mate: a mating pattern that traps the king by removing escape squares.

Book Move

A book move is a known opening move that has been played, studied, and accepted as part of opening theory. It does not mean the move is automatically best in e…

Carlsbad Pawn Structure

Carlsbad Pawn Structure: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Castling

Castling: a rule/practical concept that affects move legality or the result.

Center

Center: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Check

Check: a rule/practical concept that affects move legality or the result.

Checkmate

Checkmate: a mating pattern that traps the king by removing escape squares.

Checkmate With Bishop And Knight

Checkmate With Bishop And Knight: a mating pattern that traps the king by removing escape squares.

Checkmate With King And Queen

Checkmate With King And Queen: a mating pattern that traps the king by removing escape squares.

Checkmate With King and Rook

Checkmate With King and Rook: a mating pattern that traps the king by removing escape squares.

Checkmate With Two Bishops

Checkmate With Two Bishops: a mating pattern that traps the king by removing escape squares.

Checkmate With Two Knights

Checkmate With Two Knights: a mating pattern that traps the king by removing escape squares.

Combination

Combination: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Connected Passed Pawns

Connected Passed Pawns: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Cross-Check

Cross-Check: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Decoy

Attraction occurs when a player entices a piece to a square (often using an active, but not a passive sacrifice) where it will later come under attack. This ca…

Deflection

Distraction (sometimes called deflection) involves forcing the opponent to move a piece that was previously guarding important squares or pieces. This motif co…

Desperado

Desperado: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Development

Bringing pieces from their starting squares to active squares where they influence the game.

Discovered Attack

A discovered attack occurs when a player moves a piece which opens up an attack that was previously blocked by the moving piece. This attack may be on either a…

Discovered Check

Discovered Check: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Distant Opposition

An opposition pattern where kings are not adjacent but the same tempo logic still controls entry squares.

Double Attack

A Double Attack occurs when two or more pieces simultaneously attack multiple opponent pieces or important squares. The opponent can't counter all threats so l…

Double Check

Double Check: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Doubled Pawns

Doubled Pawns: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Draw

Draw: a rule/practical concept that affects move legality or the result.

En Passant

En Passant: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

En Prise

En Prise: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Exchange Sacrifice

An exchange sacrifice is a move where the player deliberately loses a rook for a knight or bishop to gain advantage in subsequent moves.

Exchanging Pieces

Exchanging Pieces: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Fianchetto

A fianchetto is a setup where a bishop is developed to b2, g2, b7, or g7 after moving the b-pawn or g-pawn one square. From there, the bishop controls a long d…

File

File: a rule/practical concept that affects move legality or the result.

Floating Square

A pawn endgame pattern for deciding whether one king can stop two separated passed pawns.

Fool's Mate

Fool's Mate: a mating pattern that traps the king by removing escape squares.

Forced Move

Forced Move: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Fork

A Fork occurs when a single piece attacks multiple opponent pieces or important squares.

Fortress

Fortress: an endgame technique/rule used to convert or defend positions.

Hanging Pawns

Hanging Pawns: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Hanging Piece

Hanging Piece: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Interference

Interference occurs when a player cuts the defensive contact between two enemy pieces, removing the guard of one or both of them, thus creating potential targe…

Isolated Pawn

Isolated Pawn: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Isolated Queen's Pawn

Isolated Queen's Pawn: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Key Squares

Squares the stronger king must reach to force promotion in king-and-pawn endings.

King

King: a piece (or piece family) and its typical role on the board.

King Geometry

The king often reaches targets just as fast diagonally as directly, so route choice matters in endings.

King Hunt

King Hunt: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

King Safety

How exposed or protected the king is, including pawn cover, escape squares, and attacking lines.

Knight

Knight: a piece (or piece family) and its typical role on the board.

Knight's Tour

Knight's Tour: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Legal's Mate

Legal's Mate: a mating pattern that traps the king by removing escape squares.

Lucena Position

Lucena Position: an endgame technique/rule used to convert or defend positions.

Major Piece

Major Piece: a piece (or piece family) and its typical role on the board.

Maroczy Bind

Maroczy Bind: an opening concept (idea/plan) with typical plans.

Material

The total value of pieces and pawns. Winning material usually means gaining a lasting advantage.

Minor Piece

Minor Piece: a piece (or piece family) and its typical role on the board.

Minority Attack

Minority Attack: an opening concept (idea/plan) with typical plans.

Novelty

Novelty: an opening concept (idea/plan) with typical plans.

Opposition

Opposition: an endgame technique/rule used to convert or defend positions.

Outpost

Outpost: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Overloading

Overloading occurs when a defensive piece is required to protect more than one piece or square at a time, but can only perform one of the defensive tasks adequ…

Passed Pawn

Passed Pawn: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Pawn

Pawn: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Pawn Break

Pawn Break: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Pawn Breakthrough

A forcing pawn sequence, often with sacrifices, that creates a decisive passed pawn.

Pawn Chain

Pawn Chain: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Pawn Majority

Pawn Majority: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Pawn Promotion

Pawn Promotion: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Pawn Race

An endgame race where both sides push passed pawns and count who promotes first.

Pawn Storm

Pawn Storm: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Pawn Structure

Pawn Structure: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Pawn Types

Pawn Types: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Perpetual Check

Perpetual Check: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Philidor Position

Philidor Position: an endgame technique/rule used to convert or defend positions.

Piece Activity

How much your pieces influence useful squares, lines, targets, and threats.

Pin

An absolute pin occurs when an attacked piece is in front of, and in the same line of attack as the pinned piece's king. The pinned pieced is therefore not abl…

Poisoned Pawn

Poisoned Pawn: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Prophylaxis

Prophylaxis: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Protected Passed Pawn

Protected Passed Pawn: a pawn-structure concept (weaknesses, majorities, passed pawns) that drives plans.

Queen

Queen: a piece (or piece family) and its typical role on the board.

Queen Sacrifice

A queen sacrifice is a move where the player deliberately loses a queen to gain advantage in subsequent moves.

Rectangular Opposition

An indirect king opposition pattern where the kings occupy opposite corners of a rectangle.

Removing The Defender

Removing The Defender: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Rook

Rook: a piece (or piece family) and its typical role on the board.

Rook Lift

Rook Lift: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Rook Pawn on the Seventh vs Queen

A theoretical queen-vs-rook-pawn ending where the corner and stalemate ideas can save the weaker side.

Sacrifice

A sacrifice is a move where the player deliberately loses a piece to gain advantage in subsequent moves. Tactical sacrifices usually result in an imminent mate…

Scholar's Mate

Scholar's Mate is the beginner mating pattern where the queen and bishop attack f7/f2 early, often after e4, Qh5, Bc4 and Qxf7#.

Simplification

Simplification: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Skewer

The player attacks a piece of the opponent, which cannot move without exposing a square or piece of lesser or equal value behind it to attack. The front piece…

Smothered Mate

A smothered mate occurs when the king is trapped on the back rank or side file, and is unable to escape an attack from a knight due to being hemmed in by their…

Square Rule

Square Rule: an endgame technique/rule used to convert or defend positions.

Stalemate

Stalemate happens when the player to move is not in check but has no legal move. The game ends immediately in a draw.

Strategy

Strategy: a tactical motif that can win material or force a sequence.

Tempo

Tempo: a rule/practical concept that affects move legality or the result.

Threefold Repetition

Threefold Repetition: a rule/practical concept that affects move legality or the result.

Trapped Piece

A piece is trapped when it has no safe squares to escape to thus making it highly susceptible to capture. While mated kings are technically trapped, this tag s…

Triangulation

A maneuver that returns to the same position with the move changed, often to force zugzwang.

Underpromotion

A tag used when the position requires an underpromotion for tactical reasons. Often the underpromotion is done to avoid stalemate, but other reasons are possib…

Windmill

The discovery form of a windmill attack wins multiple pieces by using several discovered checks chained together. A rook discovering attacks from a bishop is a…

Zugzwang

Zugzwang: an endgame technique/rule used to convert or defend positions.

Zwischenzug

Zwischenzug (a German word for in-between move or intermediate move) refers to a tactic where the player postpones an anticipated move in order to make a forci…