Chess Terms: A Beginner's Glossary
Chess has its own language. This glossary explains the words you will meet in our Coach, guides and puzzles, each in a sentence or two. Where we have a full guide or a set of practice puzzles for a term, the link is right there.
Tip: anywhere on the site, a word with a dotted gold underline is in this glossary. Hover over it or tap it to see what it means.
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Basics
The rules and everyday words you need before anything else.
Castling
A special move: the king steps two squares toward a rook, and the rook jumps over it to the other side. Castling tucks the king away and brings a rook toward the center in a single move. You can only castle if neither piece has moved, the squares between them are empty, and the king is not in check and does not pass through or land on an attacked square.
Read: Castling in Chess: How It Works and When You Can't Castle Practice 27 castling puzzles
Check
An attack on the king. The player in check must get out of it on their next move. There are three ways out of check: move the king, block the check, or capture the checking piece.
Checkmate
The king is in check and has no way out. The game is over. Checkmate (or just "mate") ends the game immediately, no matter how much material either side has.
Development
Bringing your pieces off their starting squares so they can join the game. Good development means knights and bishops out early, the king castled, and rooks connected. Falling behind in development is how most quick losses happen.
Read: What Are the Most Important Chess Opening Principles for Beginners?
Diagonal
A slanted line of squares of the same color. Bishops and queens move along them.
Draw
A game that ends with no winner. Draws happen by agreement, stalemate, threefold repetition, the fifty-move rule, or when neither side has enough material to checkmate.
En passant
When a pawn moves two squares and lands beside an enemy pawn, that pawn can capture it as if it had moved one. French for "in passing". The capture must be made immediately, on the very next move, or the chance is gone.
Read: En Passant in Chess: The Rule Explained, With Examples Practice 21 en passant puzzles
Fifty-move rule
After 50 moves each with no capture and no pawn move, a draw can be claimed.
Kingside / queenside
The half of the board where the king starts (e to h files) or the queen starts (a to d files). Castling kingside (O-O) puts the king on g1 or g8; castling queenside (O-O-O) puts it on c1 or c8.
Major piece
A rook or a queen. Major pieces can checkmate a lone king with only their own king's help.
Material
The value of your pieces: pawn 1, knight 3, bishop 3, rook 5, queen 9. Counting material is the quickest way to see who is ahead. Being "up a pawn" means you have one more pawn's worth of material.
Minor piece
A bishop or a knight. Each is worth about 3 pawns.
Notation
The way moves are written down, like Nf3 (knight to f3) or exd5 (pawn on e takes d5). Chess uses algebraic notation: a piece letter (K, Q, R, B, N; none for pawns), then the square. "x" means a capture, "+" check, "#" checkmate, and O-O castling.
Perpetual check
A series of checks the king can't escape, which forces a draw. The side that is losing often looks for a perpetual to save half a point.
Promotion
A pawn that reaches the last rank becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight. Almost everyone picks a queen, but the choice is yours, and you can have more than one queen.
Rank / file
A rank is a row (1 to 8). A file is a column (a to h). White's pieces start on the 1st and 2nd ranks, Black's on the 7th and 8th. Files are named by letter, so the "e-file" runs from e1 to e8.
Resign
Giving up the game before you are checkmated.
Stalemate
The player to move has no legal move and is not in check. The game is a draw. Stalemate is the classic way to throw away a won endgame: with a big material lead, always check that your opponent still has a move.
Threefold repetition
The same position three times with the same player to move. Either side can claim a draw. The moves don't have to be in a row; the position just has to repeat three times with the same castling and en passant rights.
Touch-move
Over the board, if you touch one of your pieces you must move it. If you touch an opponent's piece, you must capture it if you legally can. Say "I adjust" before straightening a piece.
Trade
Capturing a piece and letting yours be captured back, usually of equal value. Also called an exchange. Trading is good when you are ahead in material or when it removes your opponent's best piece.
Underpromotion
Promoting a pawn to a rook, bishop or knight instead of a queen. Usually done to avoid stalemate, or to promote to a knight that gives check.
Tactics
Short, forcing ideas that win material. Most games under 1500 are decided by one of these.
Battery
Two pieces lined up on the same line, like a queen behind a bishop, to attack together. Doubled rooks on an open file and a queen-and-bishop battery aimed at h7 are the classic examples.
Blunder
A very bad move, usually one that loses material or the game. Analysis tools mark blunders with "??". Most blunders are hanging pieces or missed checks.
Clearance
Moving a piece out of the way to open a square or line for another piece.
Counterattack
Answering an attack with an attack of your own instead of defending.
Decoy
Luring a piece onto a square where it can be attacked, often with a sacrifice. Also called attraction.
Deflection
Forcing a defending piece away from the square or piece it guards.
Desperado
A piece that is lost anyway grabs as much material as it can first.
Discovered attack
Moving one piece uncovers an attack by another piece behind it. Two threats in one move: the piece that moves makes its own threat, and the piece behind it attacks too.
Discovered check
A discovered attack where the uncovered piece gives check. The piece that moves can go almost anywhere, even capture the queen, because your opponent has to deal with the check first.
Double check
Check from two pieces at once. The only escape is to move the king. You can't block or capture two checking pieces in one move, which makes double check the most forcing move in chess.
Exchange sacrifice
Giving a rook for a bishop or knight to get something better, like an attack or a strong square. "The exchange" is the difference between a rook and a minor piece, about two pawns. Winning the exchange means getting a rook for a bishop or knight.
Fork
One piece attacks two or more enemy pieces at the same time. Your opponent can only save one, so you win the other. Knights are the best forking pieces; a fork with check is the strongest kind.
Read: What Is a Fork in Chess? The Double Attack Explained With Examples Practice 1,000 fork puzzles
Hanging piece
A piece that is attacked and not defended, so it can simply be taken. Hanging pieces decide most games below 1500. Check every capture your opponent has before you move.
Interference
Blocking the line between an enemy piece and the square it defends.
Overloading
One piece is guarding two things at once, so it can't do both.
Pin
A piece can't move without exposing a more valuable piece behind it. In an absolute pin the piece behind is the king, so the pinned piece may not move off the line at all. In a relative pin moving is legal but costly.
Read: What Is a Pin in Chess? Absolute and Relative Pins Explained Practice 1,000 pin puzzles
Removing the defender
Capturing or chasing away the piece that protects something else.
Sacrifice
Giving up material on purpose to get something more valuable. A sacrifice can buy a mating attack, a passed pawn, faster development, or a better position. A pawn sacrifice in the opening is called a gambit.
Skewer
An attack on a valuable piece; when it moves, the piece behind it is lost. A skewer is a pin in reverse: the bigger piece is in front. Bishops, rooks and queens can skewer.
Read: What Is a Skewer in Chess? How It Works, With Examples Practice 568 skewer puzzles
Threat
What a move is trying to do next, like winning a piece or giving mate. Before every move, ask "what is my opponent threatening?" It is the single best habit for avoiding blunders.
Trap
A move that tempts the opponent into a natural-looking mistake that loses material or the game. Opening traps work because the losing move looks normal. Knowing them saves you from falling in and wins quick games.
Read: Chess Opening Traps & Gambits: The Data-Driven Playbook
Trapped piece
A piece with no safe square to go to, so it can be won. Bishops that grab pawns on b2 or b7 and knights on the edge of the board are the usual victims.
Windmill
A repeating discovered check that wins material on every turn.
Zwischenzug
An in-between move: instead of the expected recapture, a stronger move played first. German for "in-between move", also called an intermezzo. Usually a check or a bigger threat that improves the position before recapturing.
Checkmates
Named mating patterns. Learn to spot them and you will finish games faster.
Anastasia's mate
A knight and rook (or queen) trap the king on the edge of the board.
Arabian mate
A rook and knight mate the king in the corner. One of the oldest known checkmate patterns.
Back rank mate
A rook or queen mates a king trapped behind its own pawns on the back rank. Give your king some luft (a pawn move like h3) and this mate goes away.
Epaulette mate
The king is mated because pieces on both sides of it block its escape.
Fool's mate
The fastest possible checkmate, in two moves, after White weakens the king with f3 and g4. 1.f3 e5 2.g4 Qh4#. It only happens when both kingside pawns are pushed carelessly.
Scholar's mate
A four-move checkmate with queen and bishop on f7 (f2 for Black). 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Qh5 Nf6?? 4.Qxf7#. Easy to stop once you know it: defend f7 and develop.
Smothered mate
A knight mates a king that is surrounded by its own pieces.
Strategy
Long-term ideas: where your pieces belong and what to aim at when there is no tactic.
Backward pawn
A pawn that has fallen behind its neighbors and can't be defended by them.
Bishop pair
Having both bishops while your opponent has lost one. Usually an advantage in open positions.
Center
The four middle squares (d4, e4, d5, e5) and the area around them. Pieces in the center reach more squares, so both sides fight for it from move one.
Closed position
A position with locked pawn chains and few open lines. Knights tend to do well. An open position is the opposite: few pawns in the center, lots of open lines, good for bishops.
Compensation
What you get back (an attack, development, a strong square) for material you gave up.
Doubled pawns
Two pawns of the same color on the same file. Usually a weakness. They can't protect each other, but they often come with an open file for a rook.
Good / bad bishop
A bad bishop is blocked by its own pawns on its color; a good one isn't.
Hole
A square that can no longer be defended by a pawn, where an enemy piece can settle.
Initiative
Being the one making threats, so your opponent has to react.
Isolated pawn
A pawn with no friendly pawns on the files next to it. On d4 or d5 it's called an IQP. An isolated queen's pawn gives active pieces and space, but it can become a target in the endgame.
Long diagonal
The two longest diagonals, a1 to h8 and h1 to a8. A bishop on the long diagonal, often after a fianchetto, can reach all the way into the enemy camp.
Luft
A pawn move (like h3) that gives your king an escape square. German for "air".
Open file
A file with no pawns on it (half-open: only the opponent's pawn). Rooks love them.
Outpost
A square in enemy territory that no enemy pawn can attack, ideal for a knight.
Passed pawn
A pawn with no enemy pawns in front of it or on the files next to it. Nothing but pieces can stop it, so it becomes stronger as pieces come off. "Passed pawns must be pushed."
Pawn break
A pawn move that attacks the opponent's pawns to open the position. In closed positions the pawn breaks are the plan. In the French Advance, for example, Black's breaks are ...c5 and ...f6.
Read: The Key Pawn Breaks for Black in the French Advance Variation
Pawn chain
Pawns linked diagonally, each defending the one in front. Attack a chain at its base: the back pawn has nothing defending it.
Pawn structure
How the pawns are arranged. It decides the plans for both sides. Pawns can't move backward, so the structure changes slowly and tells you where to attack and where your pieces belong.
Prophylaxis
A move that stops your opponent's plan before it starts.
Space
How much of the board your pawns and pieces control. More space means more room to move.
Tempo
One move's worth of time. Gaining a tempo means making progress while your opponent wastes a move. Developing a piece with a threat "gains a tempo", because your opponent spends their move reacting. Plural: tempi.
Openings
Words you meet in every opening guide and Coach lesson.
Book move
A move that's part of known opening theory. Leaving the book means you're on your own.
Fianchetto
Moving the knight's pawn one square and putting the bishop behind it, on the long diagonal. Pronounced fyan-KET-oh. Used in the King's Indian, Grünfeld, Catalan, Pirc and Modern, among others.
Read: What Is a Fianchetto in Chess? Meaning, Examples and When to Use It
Gambit
An opening where you give up a pawn (or more) for faster development or an attack. If the opponent takes, the gambit is "accepted"; if not, "declined".
Read: What Is the Difference Between an Opening, a Defense, a Gambit and a System in Chess?
Hypermodern
Controlling the center from a distance with pieces instead of occupying it with pawns.
Main line
The most common, most studied path through an opening.
Opening
The first phase of the game, when both sides develop their pieces. Also a named sequence of moves.
Read: What Are the Most Important Chess Opening Principles for Beginners?
Opening theory
The known best moves and ideas in an opening, built up from real games.
Read: How Far Into a Game Does Chess Opening Theory Usually Go?
Repertoire
The set of openings you play as White and as Black.
Read: How Do I Choose a Chess Opening Repertoire That Fits My Playing Style?
Sideline
A less common move that leaves the main line.
Symmetrical
Both sides play the same moves, like 1.c4 c5.
System opening
A setup you play against almost anything, like the London System.
Read: What Is the Difference Between an Opening, a Defense, a Gambit and a System in Chess?
Transposition
Reaching the same position through a different order of moves.
Read: What Is Transposition in Chess, and How Can I Use Move Orders to Trick My Opponent?
Endgames
The phases of the game and the key ideas once most pieces are gone.
Endgame
The final phase, with few pieces left. Kings become active and pawns race to promote.
Fortress
A defensive setup the stronger side can't break, so the game is drawn.
Lucena position
A key rook endgame win: building a bridge with the rook to promote the pawn.
Middlegame
The phase after the opening, when plans and tactics decide the game.
Opposition
Kings facing each other with one square between. The side not to move usually wins the standoff. In king and pawn endgames, taking the opposition is often the difference between a win and a draw.
Philidor position
A key rook endgame draw: the defending rook holds the sixth rank.
Zugzwang
Any move you make worsens your position, but you have to move. German for "compulsion to move". Most common in king and pawn endgames, where passing would save you but passing isn't allowed.
Read: What Is Zugzwang in Chess? Meaning and Examples Practice 74 zugzwang puzzles
Ratings & analysis
What the numbers and labels in game reviews and rating lists mean.
Accuracy
How close your moves were to the engine's best moves, as a percentage.
Brilliant move
A strong move that's hard to find, often a sacrifice. Marked "!!" in analysis.
Elo
A rating system: the higher the number, the stronger the player. Named after Arpad Elo. Beat a higher-rated player and you gain more points; lose to a lower-rated one and you drop more.
Engine evaluation
The computer's score for a position, in pawns. +1.0 means White is about a pawn better. Minus numbers mean Black is better. "M3" means a forced mate in 3.
Inaccuracy / mistake
Labels for moves that lose some (inaccuracy) or a lot (mistake) of the advantage. From mildest to worst: inaccuracy (?!), mistake (?), blunder (??).
Rating
Your playing strength as a number, like 1200 on Lichess.
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