Glossary of Chess Terms:

The US Chess Federation is a not-for-profit membership organization devoted to extending the role of chess in the United States. This page includes commonly used chess terms and names.

Alekhine: The 4th World Champion. Known for his guile and remembered for defeating the "Chess Machine," Jose Capablanca. He was also one of the original five grandmasters named by Czar Nicholas.

algebraic: A type of chess notation which uses a grid with coordinates, employing letters and numbers, to describe squares on a chessboard.

Bishop: A piece that moves diagonally on one color only. Each player has two Bishops at the start of the game.

board: Split into 64 squares, chess is played on this. Can be made of almost any material.

Botvinnik: The World Champion who succeeded Alekhine, Mikhail "Iron Mike" Botvinnik regained the title many times.

Capablanca, "Capa": Jose Capablanca made chess look so effortless, he was known as the "Chess Machine."

capture: To take an opponent's piece off the board and out of play.

castle: A special move in which a King and a Rook move simultaneously. Also, an informal, alternative name for a Rook.

Chigorin: The first Russian chessplayer. He is considered, by many, to be the founder of the "Russian School of Chess."

clock, chessclock: An object used to time a chess game. The usual penalty for exceeding the time limit is the loss of the game.

correspondence chess: A game in which both sides send their moves through the mail or by e-mail. (Formerly referred to as "postal chess")

descriptive: Also known as English Descriptive Notation. The form of notation in which each square has two names, depending on which side of the board is moving a piece. Most modern players consider this method archaic. See algebraic.

en passant: A special type of pawn move. It is rarely known by non-tournament players.

endgame: The portion of the game when most of the pieces have been taken off the board.

file: Vertical columns. labeled A to H, on the chessboard.

Fischer: The first world champion born in the U.S. Also, the youngest grandmaster up to that time.

flag: The term used for the plastic piece on a chess clock that indicates a time forfeit.

grandmaster: The highest level title that can be achieved in chess.

Gruenfeld Gambit: A pawn (or more important piece) sacrifice, played by Black in the Gruenfeld Defense.

handicap: An attempt, usually affecting time or material, to make a stronger player's challenges more equal to that of the weaker player.

illegal position: A position in which both Kings are in check or a number of factors are involved which make a position illegal.

Karpov: The current FIDE World Champion. He succeeded Bobby Fischer when Fischer forfeited the title.

Kasparov: The successor to Anatoly Karpov. He later formed his own chess organization, the Professional Chess Association (PCA).

King: The most important piece in a chess game.

Knight: The only piece that can jump over pieces in a chess game.

Legall's mate: A specific pattern that arises when one side sacrifices the Queen to checkmate with one Bishop and 2 Knights.

Marshall: A former U.S. Champion who coined the term swindle for a desperate trap that saves or wins the game.

middlegame: The part of the game that occurs after the opening and before the endgame.

Morphy: Considered by many to be the first unofficial world champion. He beat all the best player in Europe, but Howard Staunton refused to play him for the title.

notation: The method used to record a game. See algebraic.

opening: The beginning phase of a chess game.

passed pawn: A pawn with no opposition on an adjoining file.

Pandolfini: A prolific author of chess books, a national master, and a pivotal character in the book Searching for Bobby Fischer.

pawn: The weakest unit on a chessboard; but the only piece that can be promoted.

perpetual-check: When one side can continually check the other.

Philidor: A famous player, most remembered for the memorable phrase, "The pawns are the soul of chess."

Polgar: The last name of a family of chess players, which includes GM Zsusza Polgar, the Women's World Champion.

promotion: An event that occurs when a pawn reaches the opponents first rank.

Queen: The most powerful chess piece.

rank: Horizontal rows on the chessboard, numbered from 1 to 8.

Reinfeld: A National Master and author of hundreds of chess books.

Reti: One of the founders of the "Hypermodern" school. He gave Jose Capablanca his only tournament loss in 10 years.

Rook: A piece that moves along ranks and files only.

Sicilian Defence: An asymmetrical answer to White's 1.e4; first played in Palermo in the 1500s.

sixty-four (squares): The number of squares on a chessboard.

Smyslov: A former World Champion who beat Botvinnik, but lost the rematch. He has a clear style, good technique and an affinity for the endgame.

Spassky: Former World Champion who beat Tigran Petrosian and lost to Bobby Fischer. He has a "universal" style.

Staunton: A strong player who proclaimed himself world champion. He refused to play Paul Morphy.

Tal: Former World Champion who defeated Botvinnik, but lost the rematch. His fans idolized him and he was probably the most loved world champion in history. He had a speculative attacking style.

tempo: A single move. Very often a chess game becomes a fight for tempo.

threat: The essence of a chess game. Threats can be subtle, mating positional, etc. Threats are what you would do if you could play 12 or more moves without an opponent.

time control: A specific number of moves in a specific amount of time. Time controls can be either traditional or sudden death.

Timman: A Dutch Grandmaster who challenged Karpov for the FIDE World Championship when Kasparov and Short formed the PCA.

tournament: Unlike a match, more than two players are involved.

trap: A series of moves that leads to a favorable outcome for the person who sets it.

variation: The analyses of a chess game; specifically a line of play or annotation.

Waitzkin: A young, strong International Master and the main Character of the book and movie Searching for Bobby Fischer.

zeitnot: The German term for time pressure or having moves to make without a lot of time for thought. Almost always a very stressful situation for any player who finds himself there.

zugzwang: German for "compulsion to move." A player is said to be in zugzwang when any move he makes will result in the loss of a piece or otherwise seriously weaken his position, though the opponent presents no concrete threat.

zwischenzug: German for intermediate move. A move which interrupts an apparently forced sequence. A common example is when a player delivers check before capturing a man that he had left en prise.