Chess Stack Exchange
Chess Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [terminology]

Questions about the particular terminology used in chess

Given its long history, and the geographic diversity that accompanied many of the big developments in the game, chess enjoys a rich tapestry of interesting terminology coming from various languages. A few examples:

  • The term "checkmate" comes from the Persian phrase "Shāh Māt," meaning literally "the king is helpless."

  • The French term "en passant" means "in passing," and is used to refer to the capture of a pawn which has just advanced two squares by another pawn that sits beside it on an adjacent square.

  • The term "gambit" derives from the Italian "dare il gambetto," which translates roughly as "to stick out one's leg to trip someone."

  • The German words "Zugzwang" (meaning "compulsion to move") and "Zwischenzug" ("in-between move") are in common usage.

160 questions
32
votes
6 answers

How is "fianchetto" really pronounced?

I have heard "fianchetto" for four decades now, and I have always pronounced it "fēənˈCHetō", but I have heard many people also pronounce it "fēənˈketō". It is of Italian origin, so I am wondering if there are any Italians out there, especially…
PhishMaster
  • 32,397
  • 4
  • 102
  • 174
27
votes
3 answers

How to describe two knights defending each other?

How to describe two knights defending each other? Linked knights? Doubled knights? In Chinese Chess, two 马 (horse/knight)s protecting one another is quite common, and there is a standard terminology: "连环马". There is a real case: "German Chess…
Zhang Jian
  • 371
  • 3
  • 6
26
votes
3 answers

What is the Bongcloud opening?

I have heard the Bongcloud opening mentioned on chess.com, but I have never heard of that. Is this a real opening, and if so, what is it?
user20520
25
votes
5 answers

What does it mean to play "positionally", and how do you train that?

I often hear this term thrown around when people are analyzing chess, but I don't really know what it means. I assume it's a generic term that means to play defensively, or to set up for the future. If that's what it means, how do I learn when it's…
bpromas
  • 799
  • 7
  • 11
24
votes
3 answers

Is there an origin or story of where the pieces that make a chess game got their name from?

I understand why there would be a king and queen but I would love to know where the idea to call pieces what they are - such as the Rook, Knight, Bishop and Pawn - came from. Is there any background information on the reasons they were called this,…
ThunderToes
  • 485
  • 1
  • 5
  • 11
23
votes
3 answers

What is a tabiya and what is their importance?

I've heard the term Tabiya used online though I've never really run into it in any chess book I've read. I have an idea of what the term means but I'm not sure I'm correct, so first I'll say what I think it means and someone can clarify or correct…
EvilSpudBoy
  • 789
  • 5
  • 13
22
votes
2 answers

Why are the corner pieces referred to as "rooks" in English?

Various sources like those quoted in Wikipedia say that it's a mistake, or old-fashioned, to refer to rooks as "castles". Why is this, though? Other languages generally refer to these pieces as "towers" and when the king exchanges places with…
Jez
  • 575
  • 1
  • 3
  • 13
21
votes
2 answers

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 Sicilian Defense, I notices that many line of the…
Jayeon Yi
  • 313
  • 1
  • 5
21
votes
3 answers

What are "full piece" and "half piece" in chess?

I'm reading Kasparov's Deep Thinking and I came across this sentence: In one computer championship, a machine blundered a full piece early in the game but its opponent declined to capture it. When I googled it I also saw the term "half piece" but…
Dennis
  • 389
  • 3
  • 7
19
votes
3 answers

Term for checking piece whose opponent daren't capture it

What if any, is the term for a piece whose owner gets a draw by keeping up a relentless series of checks with it -- a paradox being that even if this player puts it en prise, the opponent daren't capture it because that would deliver stalemate? The…
Rosie F
  • 6,255
  • 2
  • 19
  • 35
19
votes
1 answer

Was the value of thorn pawns fully appreciated in decades past?

Many videos on YouTube channel "Kingscrusher" which discuss the play of new neural-net engines like Leela Chess Zero focus considerable attention upon the development of "thorn pawns" which are pawns that have reached the sixth rank and are blocked…
supercat
  • 1,152
  • 11
  • 14
18
votes
1 answer

What are the origins of the words 'zwischenzug' and 'zugzwang'?

I've heard chess analysts use the words Zugzwang (being forced to make a bad move) and Zwischenzug (making an intermediate move which improves the outcome of the next move) in commentary. Does anyone know how these German words found their way into…
Totero
  • 1,738
  • 1
  • 13
  • 19
18
votes
1 answer

Does Boris Gelfand share his surname with a chess piece?

Boris Gelfand was just narrowly edged out by Anand in their match's rapid tiebreaks, and I thought I'd ask an oddball question related to him. The bishop chess piece is known by several different sorts of names in different languages. For instance,…
ETD
  • 23,592
  • 4
  • 95
  • 169
18
votes
14 answers

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 least one equivalent phrase in another…
hb20007
  • 1,052
  • 6
  • 20
18
votes
5 answers

Are pawns pieces?

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?
Andrew May
  • 197
  • 1
  • 6
1
2 3
…
10 11