Chess Terms Glossary with Definitions

An absolute pin is a situation in chess where a piece is immobilized because moving it would expose the king to check. In this scenario, the pinned piece cannot legally move, as doing so would violate the rules by placing the king in check. This tactic ...More

Active refers to the position or state of a piece that has a wide range of movement or influence over the board. Active pieces control squares, can make threats against the opponent's position, and have the potential to be used in combinations ...More

Adjournment is a situation in chess where a game is temporarily halted, with the intention of finishing it later. It was frequently used in tournaments that needed to be continued beyond their scheduled closing time. However, the practice was abandoned ...More

Adjudication refers to the process in which a potentially unfinished game is ended and a result decided by an independent third party. This often happens where a game cannot be continued for some reason, or where the end-result is too time-consuming or ...More

Adjust in chess refers to the action of a player intentionally touching a piece with the intention of repositioning it on its square without intending to move it. According to standard chess rules, a player should say adjust or j'a...More

An Advanced Pawn in chess refers to a pawn that is positioned in the opponent's side of the board, thereby posing a threat to the opponent and often playing a crucial role in the endgame. The farther it advances, the more pow...More

Advantage in chess refers to a situation where a player has a better position or greater potential to win due to factors such as superior material, better pawn structure, safer king, or more active piece placement. It's the lead or superiority a player ...More

Alekhine's Gun refers to a formation in chess where the queen is directly supported by two rooks on the same file. This powerful arrangement, named after the World Chess Champion Alexander Alekhine, allows the player to control both the file and rank, c...More

Algebraic Notation is a method used to record and describe the moves in a game of chess. It is a standard notation system recognized internationally, where each square on the chessboard is identified with a unique pair of...More

In the context of chess, an Amateur refers to a player who is not a chess professional. This player does not make a living by playing or teaching chess, even though they may partake in chess tournaments and competitions. The skill level of amat...More

Analysis in chess refers to the process of evaluating a chess position to understand its potential outcomes or the strategies that could be employed. It involves examining a series of possible moves and counter-moves to determine their potential advanta...More

Annotation in chess refers to written comments and analysis added to the moves of a game to provide a detailed understanding of the game essentials. These notations can include tactical and strategic evaluations, alternative possible moves, and explanat...More

Announced Mate refers to a declaration made by a player in which they assert that they will checkmate the opponent's king within a specific number of moves. This declaration is usually ...More

An Anti-Sicilian refers to any line of moves in the game of chess that is used as a response to the Sicilian Defense, aiming to prevent the game...More

Antipositional refers to a move or a series of moves in chess that violate the principles of positional play. These can include unnecessary pawn movements, poorly-timed attacks, neglecting development of pieces, or disregard for the control of important...More

Arabian Mate is a checkmating pattern in chess that involves a knight and a rook in a cooperative action. Specifically, the knight covers the escape squares of the opponent's king and the rook delivers the [url=/how-to-play-c...More

Attraction is a chess tactic in which a piece is lured to a square (often as a decoy), typically to make the piece a target or impede the piece's control of certain squares. This is often used to remove a defensive piece or draw a piece away from defend...More

An Automaton in chess refers to a self-operating machine or a robot, specifically designed to play or assist in the game of chess. It's often used in the context of historical pseudo-automatons, which appeared to play chess with a human opponent and mak...More

The term Back Rank in chess refers to the row of squares on which a player's pieces are set up initially. For white pieces, it's the first rank, while for black pieces, it's the eighth rank. This row typically contai...More

A back-rank mate is a checkmate pattern in chess where the enemy king is checkmated on its first rank (for white) or eighth rank (for black), typically trapped by its own pa...More

A Back-Rank Weakness in chess refers to a situation where a player's back rank (the row of squares on which the player's pieces start at the beginning of the game) is inadequately defended. This usually renders the k...More

A backward pawn is a pawn that is behind its adjacent pawns and cannot be safely advanced. This pawn is typically seen as a weakness because it cannot be supported by other pawns and can easily become a target for attack.More

A Bad Bishop is a term in chess referring to a bishop that is impeded by pawns of its own color on its own side. It is restricted in its movements and its capacity to control squares, thus making it relatively inef...More

A Bare King in chess refers to a situation where one player has only the king left, all other pieces and pawns have been captured.More

Basque Chess is a variant of traditional chess where one player concurrently plays two separate games against an opponent. Each of the two players has two boards in front of them, with one game played with each hand. Moves ar...More

A Battery refers to two or more of a player's pieces aligned on a rank, file, or diagonal on which they are capable of making coordinated attacks. The term is most often used to describe two rooks or a queen and rook working together on an open...More

BCF stands for British Chess Federation, which is the former name of the governing body for chess competition in England. It is now known as the English Chess Federation.More

BCM stands for British Chess Magazine, a monthly publication that provides news, game annotations, and articles about chess.More

BCO stands for Batsford Chess Openings. It is a famous chess book containing notable and strategic moves from various classic chess games. This book is used as a reference guide by many chess players around the wo...More

Best Play in chess is a series of moves, assuming perfect play from both sides, that leads to the best possible outcome for the player. This normally denotes an optimal strategy that minimizes the potential for loss and maximizes the potential ...More