This glossary of chess explains commonly used terms in

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

, in alphabetical order. Some of these terms have their own pages, like ''

fork In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tine (structural), tines with which one ...

'' and ''

pin A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch ...

''. For a list of unorthodox chess pieces, see

Fairy chess piece A fairy chess piece, variant chess piece, unorthodox chess piece, or heterodox chess piece is a chess piece not used in conventional chess but incorporated into certain chess variants and some chess problems. Compared to conventional pieces, fair ...

; for a list of terms specific to

chess problems A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by the composer using chess pieces on a chess board, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White is to ...

, see Glossary of chess problems; for a list of named opening lines, see

List of chess openings This is a list of chess openings, organized by the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' () code. In 1966, Chess Informant categorized the chess openings into five broad areas ("A" through "E"), with each of those broken down into one hundred subcat ...

; for a list of chess-related games, see

List of chess variants This is a list of chess variants. Many thousands of variants exist. The 2007 catalogue ''The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants'' estimates that there are well over 2,000, and many more were considered too trivial for inclusion in the catalogue. ...

A

B

, "lightning"] A #fast chess, fast form of chess with a very short

time limit A time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or a particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished. Once that time has passed, the item may be considered overdue (e.g., for work projects or school assignments). In ...

, usually three or five minutes per player for the entire game. With the advent of electronic chess clocks, the time remaining is often incremented by one or two seconds per move.Schiller 2003, p. 398 Bughouse game animation

C

D

E

F

G

, "Protect the Queen!"] An announcement to the opponent that their queen is under direct attack, similar to the announcement of "check". This warning was customary until the early 20th century.

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

, "to bungle").Kaan 2016, p. 19 See also #woodpusher, woodpusher.

Q

R

S

, "jumper"] Alternative notation for the #knight, knight. Used rather than K, which means

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

T

U

V

W

X

Z

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * (1989 reprint by Chartwell Books, ) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Glossaries of sports

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...