Chess Glossary

Glossary of Chess Terms

This is a list of some chess terms that you ought to be familiar with as you read the chess literature or play chess on the internet.

• air — (also luft). “Air” refers to an escape square for the king to guard against a back rank mate. In the castled position (especially on the king-side), the king is often hemmed in by pawns and liable to an opponent’s check on the back rank that would mean checkmate without the escape square. A player “makes air” by moving one of the pawns in front of the king to provide an escape square, eliminating the back-rank checkmate threat.
• blitz — speed chess. Usually played at time controls allotting fewer than 15 minutes to each player. “Blitz” can also be used as a verb, referring to a player making a rapid series of moves. “He blitzed out the last five moves.”
• bullet — a form of speed chess played at time controls allotting fewer than 3 minutes to each player. Also known as “lightning” chess. Bullet games are often played at a time control of one minute for each player.
• Caro Kann defense — a Black defensive system played in response to white’s 1.e4. The first moves by White and Black are 1.e4 c6
• castle long — Castling to the queenside.
• castle short — Castling to the kingside.
• dark square Bishop — a Bishop that travels on the dark squares. For White it is his Queen-Bishop, for Black, his King-Bishop. (See “DSB“
• critical square — In King and Pawn endgames, a critical square is one which, if occupied by the King, guarantees a favorable result.
• develop — move the pieces off the back rank. The pieces are developed when they are closer to the middle of the board, ready to attack the enemy position. Nimzovich makes the distinction that development is a collective idea. Thus one cannot speak of individual pieces being developed, but of the entire force being developed. Most players and authors, however, will speak of individual moves as being developing.
• DSB — dark square Bishop. (Often seen in internet chess chat.)
• endgame — the portion of the chess game when most of the pieces (especially the Queens) have been traded off, and the Kings and Pawns become more important and active.
• en passant — a capture by a Pawn standing on its fifth rank of an opponent’s neighboring Pawn that has just made a two-step initial move. For a full explanation of this move, see my blog posts on the en passant capture.
• en prise — “en prise” is a French term, referring to a piece that is subject to being captured without equal material compensation in return. Leaving a piece en prise means the opponent will have a material advantage should he take the piece. Of course, there may be non-material compensation for the loss of the piece, such as an attack on the enemy king. “En prise” usually refers, however, to leaving a piece inadequately guarded without any adequate compensation. “He left his Bishop en prise.” “But the Queen is en prise!”
• exchange — trade pieces. Usually refers to an even exchange, where the pieces captured by each player are equal or roughly equal in value. (Compare “the exchange” below.)
• file — one of the vertical rows on the chessboard. Each file starts at White’s home row (where White’s pieces are lined up) and ends at Black’s home row. The files are lettered “a” through “h,” beginning at White’s left (the Queen-side) and ending at White’s right (the King-side).
• fianchetto — developing the Bishop by moving the nearby Knight-Pawn one square and then moving the Bishop to take its place.
• French defense — a Black defensive system played in response to white’s 1.e4. The first moves by White and Black are 1.e4 e6
• kibitz — make comments on a game played by two other players. In online play, kibitzes are a form of chat during a game, where the comments made can be read by the players. Kibitzing is frowned upon or forbidden for more serious play. In a chess club, kibitzing is frowned upon, while it is forbidden in rated tournaments. A “kibitzer” is a person who makes such comments. A kibitzer is analogous to an armchair quarterback.
• light square Bishop — a Bishop that travels on the light squares. For White it is his King-Bishop, for Black, his Queen-Bishop. Sometimes referred to as the “LSB.”
• lightning — a form of speed chess played at time controls allotting fewer than 3 minutes to each player. Also known as “bullet” chess.
• LSB — light-square Bishop. (Often seen in internet chess chat.)
• luft — (also make luft). “Luft” is the German word for “air.” “Luft” refers to an escape square for the king to guard against a back rank mate. In the castled position (especially on the king-side), the king is often hemmed in by pawns and liable to an opponent’s check on the back rank that would mean checkmate without the escape square. A player “makes luft” by moving one of the pawns in front of the king to provide an escape square, eliminating the back-rank checkmate threat.
• major piece — a Rook or Queen
• match — Two or more chess games played with the player scoring the most points winning the match. “Match” is sometimes used synonymously with “game.” In a match setting, such as the World Championship, “game” is used of the individual games, while “match” is used of the entire collection of games. A match is distinguished from a tournament. A match involves two players, while a tournament can involve hundreds of players.
• mating net — A position that encloses the enemy king with the object of effecting checkmate. A mating net seeks to contain or trap the enemy king, giving him no escape, and ultimately delivering the killing blow.
• middle game — the portion of the chess game between the opening and the endgame. The middle game usually involves the maneuver of the pieces in attack and defense.
• minor piece — a Knight or Bishop
• opening — the first ten or fifteen moves of the game. There are many standard openings, and the word “opening” might refer to one of these standard series of moves, or it may simply refer to the initial stage of the chess game.
• opposition — a position in the endgame where the two Kings stand opposite each other with one square between them, either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. The player who is not on the move is said to “have the opposition.”
• perpetual check — When one player may repeatedly give check to his opponent, who cannot escape from the checks, the player is said to give perpetual check. This is often referred to as a draw by perpetual check. According to USCF rules, there is no draw by perpetual check. But in a position where perpetual check is possible, a draw by three-fold repetition will eventually arise. Perpetual check is often referred to as “perp.”
• piece — in a discussion of a chess game or position, the word “piece” usually refers to the more powerful pieces that begin the game on the player’s home row, as opposed to the Pawns. The pieces are the Queen, Rooks, Bishops, and Knights. The word “piece” can also mean, more particularly, the minor pieces. “I won a piece” usually means the person speaking won a Knight or Bishop. This is often said when the player exchanges a piece for a Pawn. When a player says “I won a whole piece,” it means that he was able to capture a piece and not give up a Pawn for the piece.
• promote — When a Pawn reaches the back rank (the player’s 8th rank, the opponent’s first rank), the Pawn can become a Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight. The Pawn is said to be promoted to the new piece. The player almost always chooses to promote the Pawn to a Queen, but underpromotion is possible and sometimes (rarely) desirable.
• Queen’s Gambit — an opening characterized by White’s 1.d4 and 2.c4 Black has several defensive systems in response to these opening moves.
• Rook-Pawn — A Pawn that is on one of the “Rook files”. A Pawn on the a- or h-file.
• sacrifice — allowing the exchange of a stronger piece for a Pawn piece of lesser value (or for no material at all) for a positional or tactical benefit. One might sacrifice one’s Queen to gain an attack on the enemy King, for example. The term is often abbreviated to “sac.” “I’m planning to sac a Rook.”
• Sicilian defense — a Black defensive system played in response to White’s 1.e4. The first moves by White and Black are 1.e4 c5
• standard time control — When played online, “standard” chess refers to games played at slower time controls. Each player has 15 minutes or more for the game. “Standard” chess can also refer to chess played under the traditional rules of chess as opposed to a variant of the game.
• strategy — long term considerations, not necessarily involving any particular move or series of moves. Getting one’s pieces developed is a strategy. Moving 1.Nf3 to fork the enemy’s King and Queen is a tactic.
• tactics — a tactic usually involves a short series of moves with a particular end in mind, often involving the exchange of Pawns or pieces, the win or sacrifice of material, and/or checkmate or the threat of checkmate.
• “the exchange” — a player has “won the exchange” when he captures his opponent’s Rook in exchange for a minor piece.
• three-fold repetition — when a position has been repeated three times, a player may claim a draw by repetition.
• underpromotion; (underpromote) — A Pawn is underpromoted when it reaches the back rank and the player chooses to promote the Pawn to a Rook, Bishop, or Knight, rather than a Queen. Underpromotion is very rare. There are some positions where promotion to a Knight is desirable to win material by an immediate fork by the Knight. Underpromotion to a Rook might be desirable to avoid a position where a Queen would cause stalemate. Underpromotion to a Bishop is probably the most rare, and would occur only in composed problems or very special game situations.
• variant — a form of chess played under different rules. For example, Fischer Random (also referred to as “960”), Bughouse, and Atomic are variants.
• variation — a series of moves that players or kibitzers see as a possibility from a particular position.
• zugzwang — a German word that literally means “must move.” (The babelfish translator gives “tight spot.”) It is a position where the player who is “in zugzwang” is on the move while any move he makes will worsen his position. A tight spot indeed!

I will add terms from time to time as I think of them and have the inclination. If you have some terms you think should be added or you want the definition for, please leave a comment below.