Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Chess Terms [T]
  Glossary of Chess Terms, Definitions, and Acronyms Chess has a rich vocabulary with many terms and acronyms ranging from from ACP to Zwischenzug. Here we provide an alphabetical list of chess terms along with their definitions as well as various acronyms and their definitions. It is our intention for this to be the most comprehensive and complete list available on the Internet. Our glossary of terms and acronyms will be updated on a regular basis as our readers inform us of additions. [Tabiya] [Tactician] [Tactics] [Tactical] [Tactical Play] [Takeback] [TD] [Team Tournament] [Technique] [Tempo] [Territory] [Text Move] [The Exchange] [Theoretical Novelty] [Theory] [Threat] [Threefold Repetition] [Thrust] [Tiebreak] [Time] [Time Control] [Time Delay] [Time Pressure] [Titles] [TN] [Touch Move] [Transitions] [Transposition] [Traps] [Trébuchet] [Triangulation] Tabiya [Top] History Tabiya is a word of Arabic origin. At one time it meant the initial position of the pieces before the first move. Definition An opening position which is seen so frequently that the real game starts from that point. The term is also used to denote a position which is seen between two players who frequently play each other and who often follow the same opening up to the point of the tabiya. From that point the game follows new paths. Example (Ruy Lopez) For example, the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 have been played so often that the position after 9.h3 is a well known tabiya. Now Black has the choice of at least a half-dozen moves to lead the game into different paths. Alternate Spelling Tabia Tactician [Top] Definition A player who specializes in tactical play, as distinguished from a, positional player. Tactics [Top] Definition The aspect of moving pieces that involves piece safety and checkmating. Tactical [Top] Definition A position with many combinative motifs present is considered tactical. Tactical Play [Top] Definition How the pieces move and arises from the calculation of specific variations including exchanges, threats, traps, and combinational plans. The most common tactical themes are the fork, the pin, discovered attack, discovered check, and the xray are all based on the double attack. Takeback [Top] Definition Used in casual games when both players agree to undo one or more moves. TD [Top] Acronym Tournament Director Description An individual responsible for directing chess tournaments. Team Tournament [Top] Definition A tournament where the players play in rating order, first board against first, second against second, etc. The result is a team win, loss, or draw, depending on whether most of the players win or lose. Technique [Top] Definition The term sums up the science of winning a won game where creativity and imagination play a minor role. Technique also refers to the skill required to pursue a win while preventing the opponent from developing any meaningful counterplay. Good chess players usually display good technique. Example A 'technical' position is the kind that might be used in an endgame manual to illustrate a particular method of winning without examining all of the subvariations. An annotator often writes, 'the rest of the game is a matter of technique', providing no additional comment. This means that one player has such a great advantage that the win is a matter of time, e.g. creating a passed Pawn and pushing it to promotion. Tempo [Top] Definition The time it takes for one of the players to make one move, or a turn, also known as a half-move. Since the players move in turn, the term is normally used to count how many moves one of the players takes to perform a specific maneuver. The loss of a tempo early in the game, where a player takes two moves to accomplish what can be done in one move, or takes three moves where two moves are enough, etc., can be sufficient to give the opponent a decisive advantage. Example 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 gains a tempo, as the Queen must move again if it is to avoid being captured. Alternate Spelling Tempi (Plural) Territory [Top] Definition The territory controlled by each player. Thus, whoever controls the most territory has a spatial advantage. Side Note More commonly refered to as Space Text Move [Top] Definition This term is used in written analysis of chess games to refer to a move that has been played in the game as opposed to other possible moves. The Exchange [Top] Definition The exchange of chessmen, or pieces as the game progresses. Winning a Rook for a Bishop or Knight is called winning “The Exchange," as the Rook has a higher piece value. Theoretical Novelty [Top] Definition A new move in the opening. Side Notes Acronym: TN Most commonly refered to as simply a, "Novelty." Theory [Top] Definition Chess theory is an impersonal, objective assessment of a chess position. It generally refers to known and practiced positions which have been studied or played by strong players. Albeit theory can apply to any phase of the game, it usually refers to the opening and endgame, and occasionally the middlegame. Examples Opening Theory means opening moves which have been played between strong players. The moves are considered to be the best, or equally attractive in specific positions. 'Theory says this move is strongest' means the move is thought to lead to the best result from that position. Opening theory is also referred to as “The Book.” Endgame Theory means endgame positions which are known to lead to a certain result. 'Theory says this endgame is drawn' means that with best play on both sides, neither side can win. Middlegame Theory is more abstract, and refers to families of positions with similar characteristics. A good example is the isolated Queen's Pawn (IQP), which theory considers to be strong in the middle game but weak in the endgame. Threat [Top] Definition A move or plan that, if allowed, would lead to the immediate depreciation of the enemy position. Example Attacks on under-defended pieces, or a move which can win material, checkmate, or make progress on the next move if the opponent does not stop it. Threefold Repetition [Top] Definition A type of, or form of draw where the same position is reached three times with the same player to move, or will occur after their next move, and with each player having the same set of legal moves each time, including the right to capture en passant and the right to castle. This does not require the same moves, and can occur at any point in the game. Side Notes Also known as repetition of position. The game is not automatically drawn if this happens: one of the players, on their move, must claim the draw with the arbiter. Thrust [Top] Definition An attack to a valuable piece, compelling it to move to avoid capture. Side Note More commonly called a Skewer. Tiebreak [Top] Definition Where prizes or titles can't be split, some method, called a "Tiebreak," for determining the winner among players when there are equal scores. Explanation In any tournament, chances are high that many players will finish the event with the same score. This is because a chess game allows only three results win, loss, or draw. That being said, a 5 round event can have only 11 different final scores. Popular Tiebreak Methods A series of rapid games; A weighted sum of the final results of each player's opponents; and A calculation based on the rating of each player's opponents. Note The rules for tiebreak should be available to all players before the tournament starts. Time [Top] Definition Time can be, and is used in several contexts. One meaning is the amount of thinking time as measured by special clocks, see Time Control. It is also used in reference to the ability to stop a particular action by the opponent, that is, Black does not have time to coordinate a successful defense against the coming attack. That being the case, time also measures development, an advantage in time being a lead in development, and the rate at which an attack is pursued or defended. Time Control [Top] Definition The amount of time given each player to complete a specified number of moves. Time controls are always used in formal tournaments and matches. A player who fails to make the required number of moves in the time allowed loses the game on time forfeit. Example In international competition, this varies, although one common time control is 40 moves in 2 hours, or 40/2. If a player uses up his 2 hour allocation and he has not yet made 40 moves, he will lose the game by forfeit no matter what the position on the board is like. After the initial time control, secondary time controls regulate the next portion of the game. The second time control might be 20/1, meaning that each player has an additional hour to reach move 60. The time is cumulative for each control, that is, a player who has 30 minutes remaining on the clock after the first 40 moves, would have 1 hour and 30 minutes for the second 20 moves. Note Time Control is also known as Time Limit. Time Delay [Top] Definition The preferred way of using a clock at a USCF tournament; a digital clock is set to NOT run for the first N seconds on each move. Time Pressure [Top] Definition That period of the game when one or both players have used up most of their time and must make many moves with little deliberation. Explaination A control of 40/2, where a player is required to make 40 moves in 2 hours, means that a player has an average of 3 minutes for each move. There is, however, no requirement for a player to use exactly 3 minutes for each move. Some moves might be played instantly, while others might be played after 20 minutes or more of thought. What often happens, is a player ends up useing most of the allotted time long before reaching the number of moves required by the time control. When this happens, the portion of the game preceding the control is played in time pressure. Naturally, this should be avoided since it often leads to mistakes or game-losing blunders. When both players are short of time, the game is played in, mutual time pressure. Notes Also known as Time Trouble, and as Zeitnot. Time pressure scrambles are exciting and some of the world's best players have made their reputations on their ability to play strong moves without blunders in time pressure. It also often happens that the probable result of a game goes from won to lost by the player in time trouble, usually because of tactical oversights. Titles [Top] Definition Chess titles are awarded by recognized international organizations like FIDE and ICCF for outstanding performance in competitions against other world class players. The most prestigious title is World Champion. The main FIDE titles, in descending order of prestige, are: GM: Grandmaster or IGM: International Grandmaster IM: International Master FM: FIDE master Similar titles are awarded to women for outstanding performance in women's events. Women's titles are: WGM: Woman Grandmaster WIM: Woman International Master Master titles are also granted by national federations. There are no standard rules across different countries for these titles. They are usually based on rating. NM: National Master (USA) FIDE also grants titles for Arbiters and Composers. TN [Top] Acronym Theoretical Novelty (Also see Novelty) Touch Move [Top] Definition The touch-move rule requires that a player who touches a piece must move it. The rule is used for all serious competitions and applies only to the player who is on move. The player who is not on move may touch pieces, although this is considered bad form; a Tournament Director may penalize a player who is touching pieces to annoy or distract the opponent. A similar rule requires that a player who releases a piece after making a legal move is considered to have made that move. A player who moves a piece to a square without releasing the piece is entitled to move that piece to a different square. There is no penalty for a player who touches a piece which has no legal moves. At one time, the rules required the player to move the King, but this rule is obsolete. A player who touches an opponent's piece is required to capture it, if possible. Castling is considered a King move, and a player should touch the King before the Rook. Summary 1. If you touch a piece you have to move it, 2. If you let go of a piece you have to leave it there 3. If you displace an opponent’s piece, you have to take it. Transitions [Top] Definition The changing of one phase of the game into another--the opening into the middlegame and the middlegame into the endgame. Transposition [Top] Definition Reaching an identical position by a different sequence of moves. When a certain position can be reached by two or more different move orders, chess players say that one variation is a transposition of, or transposes into the other. Although they can occur in any phase of the game, specific transpositions are seen most often in the opening. Examples The Dutch Defense (1.d4 f5) can be reached by 1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 or by 1.c4 f5 2.d4 e6. The French Defense is usually reached by 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5, but the sequence 1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 transposes to the identical position. Side Note Opening transpositions are in the arsenal of every good player. They are used to reach favorable positions while avoiding certain positions for the opponent. In our example of the French Defense, a player may open 1.d4 to avoid a game starting 1.e4 c5 (Sicilian Defense), where the other player is known to be a great expert. Traps [Top] Definition A hidden way to lure an opponent into making an error. A chess trap has a large element of surprise; the trapped player didn't notice anything special, but the position is suddenly, completely, irrevocably lost. A trap should only be laid if it is part of the overall strategic plan. This way, it does not matter if your opponent falls for it or not; you will still be improving your position. Side Note Chess traps are a special branch of opening theory, even though they can be set at any time in the game. When they occur in the middle or end game, we usually call them swindles. A trap is almost always the result of a bad move, or blunder, and when a game ends abruptly in the opening, it's known as a miniature. Trébuchet [Top] Definition A position of mutual Zugzwang in which either player would lose if it is his turn to move. Pronunciation Noun: treb·u·chet [treb-yoo-shet] Triangulation [Top] Definition A term reserved for endgames to describe a maneuver where a player on the move loses a tempo to achieve the same position with the opponent on the move. The maneuver usually involves Kings, one King is forced to shuttle between two squares while the other King has three squares, the triangle, at its disposal. Note: This is a work in progress. As more terms are added this will be broken into alphabetical sections from A-Z for terms and definitions, and a separate section will be added for acronyms. 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