The Everything Chess Basics Book (57 page)

convergence:
Any two or more pieces or pawns of the same color lined up to threaten an enemy square, piece, or pawn.

coordinate squares:
An endgame situation in which certain squares are linked to other squares. When the enemy king goes to one square, your king must be able to get to its corresponding square.

defense:
Various ways to hold back or neutralize your opponent’s threats.

desperado:
A tactic in which a piece or pawn that is lost in any case captures an enemy piece or pawn to take along with it.

development:
Moving the pieces from their starting squares, usually toward the center of the board. This is the major goal of the opening.

discovered attack:
A surprise attack created when one piece moves and uncovers an attack by another piece on the same rank, file, or diagonal.

discovered check:
A type of discovered attack that places the king in check.

double attack:
A situation in which two or more enemy squares, pieces, and/or pawns are threatened simultaneously.

double check:
A discovered check that attacks the king with two pieces.

draw:
A tie game. No one wins.

endgame:
The portion of the game in which so many pieces have been captured that the kings can take an active part in the battle.

en passant
:
This is a French term that means “in passing.” When one player moves a pawn two squares to try to escape capture by the opponent’s pawn, the pawn is captured
in passing
as though it had only moved one square.

en prise
:
A French term meaning “in take.” A piece is en prise when it is under attack and undefended.

Exchange:
A term for the trading of a rook for a minor piece, e.g., winning a rook for a bishop or a knight is called
winning the Exchange
.

fianchetto
:
The development of the bishop to b2, g2, b7, or g7.

file:
A vertical row of squares running between the two opponents. These rows are named by letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and h.

forced move:
A move that would lead to a lost position, if not made.

fork:
All pieces and pawns are capable of forking. This special tactic by a single piece or pawn occurs when it attacks two or more of the opponent’s pieces.

half-open file:
A file that has a pawn of only one color on it is half open; the side without a pawn has a half-open file.

happy pieces and pawns:
Any piece or pawn that is at full strength, making use of its potential.

j’adoube
:
French for “I adjust.” A player, when it is his turn to move, may adjust (slide a chessman to the center of the square) pieces by first announcing “
j’adoube
” or “I adjust.”

king:
The most important piece in a chess game. When the king is trapped (this is called
checkmate
), the game is over, with the side that trapped his opponent’s king victorious. This monarch moves one square at a time in any direction, and has the option once a game to castle.

king safety:
Since he is the whole game, it makes sense to keep your king safe behind a wall of pawns until the danger of checkmate is much reduced.

kingside:
The half of the board from the e-file to the h-file.

knight:
Shaped like a horse’s head, this chess piece leaps over all adjacent squares to a different colored square. Each player gets two, and they begin the game between the bishops and the rooks.

long-range pieces:
Queens, rooks, and bishops. These are pieces that can cover an entire open line in one move.

looking ahead:
Visualizing a new position after one or more potential moves without actually disturbing the position.

major pieces:
The rooks and queen; the pieces that have the potential for controlling the most squares.

mate:
Short for checkmate.

mini-battery:
A battery consisting of a queen or bishop as the base and a pawn as the front, lined up along the diagonal where the pawn can capture.

minor pieces:
The bishops and knights; these pieces generally control fewer squares than the queen and rook.

no retreat:
A situation in which a piece has nowhere safe to go.

notation:
A system for recording the moves of a chess game.

open file:
A file that has no pawns on it.

opening:
The part of the game that is used to develop the pieces.

opposition:
A technique used to force the opponent’s king to move away by placing your king typically with one square between them on a rank or file.

pieces:
Kings, queens, rooks, bishops, and knights are the pieces in chess.

pawns:
The little guys that line up in front of the pieces at the start of a game. They have a distinctive type of move with many exceptions. Pawns have always been the foot soldiers of chess, and each player starts out with eight.

passed pawn:
A pawn that has no enemy pawns in front of it on the same file or on either adjacent file.

pawn promotion:
When a piece reaches the final row on the opposite side of the board, it has the option of becoming a queen, rook, bishop, or knight.

pin:
A tactic that “sticks” or “pins down” one piece to another along a rank, file, or diagonal. If the piece is pinned to the king, it is illegal to move the pinned piece, for it would expose the king to check.

queen:
Each player gets only one. She can move in any straight line, along ranks, files, or diagonals, any number of squares.

queenside:
The half of the chessboard from the d-file to the a-file.

rank:
A row that runs from left to right across the board. The numbered rows on marked chessboards.

removing the defender:
A tactic that removes the defender of a given square, piece, or pawn, so that it is no longer defended.

rook:
The rook moves along ranks or files, any number of squares, and is capable of castling with the king occasionally. It starts out in the corners when a game begins, and each player gets two.

sacrifice:
Giving up material to gain a greater advantage. Often used for attacking the king.

skewer:
The skewer is a backward pin. It is an attack on two pieces on the same rank, file, or diagonal, but, unlike the pin, it forces the closer piece to move, which leaves the other piece to be captured.

sleeping pieces:
Pieces that have nothing to do, such as the long-range pieces at the start of a game.

stalemate:
A tie game that results from the opponent with more material controlling all the squares around the weaker side’s king but not directly attacking the king.

strategy:
Strategy deals with overall plans or goals as opposed to tactical calculations.

tactics:
The “fireworks” of chess are “tricks” or weapons used to win material or gain some other advantage. They include convergence, batteries, pins, forks, skewers, discovered attacks, removing defenders, no retreat, desperado, Zwischenzug, and opposition.

threats:
Any potential capture or promotion that will gain value, or any potential check, checkmate, stalemate, or other type of draw. All pieces and pawns are capable of making threats.

three-position repetition:
A type of draw in which the same position, with the same player to move, is repeated for the third time during the course of a game.

touch move:
In chess if you touch a piece without saying “I adjust” first, then you must move it.

tournament chess:
An event where chess games are played against more than one opponent.

value of the pieces:
The value of a piece depends on how many squares it attacks; therefore, the value will change depending upon where the piece is located on the board. Remember, however, your king is worth the game!

waking up the pieces:
At the start of the game, all pieces are very sleepy (they have nothing to do). Waking them up means giving them lines and squares to go to so they can realize their potential strength.

White:
The light pieces are referred to as White in chess, regardless of their actual color.

winning the Exchange:
If you win a rook for a bishop or a knight, you have won the Exchange.

Zugzwang
:
A German word that means one is forced to move but has no good options.

Zwischenzug:
A German word that refers to an in-between move.

Appendix B
Frequently Asked Questions

CONFUSED? Is your head spinning? Do you still have questions after reading this book? Are you afraid to ask? Well, here are the most frequently asked questions about chess. You’ll find answers to your questions here.

What is the difference between a provisional
and an established rating?
A provisional rating is a rating that is based on four to twenty-five games. An established rating is based on twenty-six or more games. Note that a player who has played less than four rated games does not receive a rating. A player with a provisional rating is not unrated. Provisional ratings are used for tournament pairing purposes in exactly the same way that established ratings are used. However, a player with a provisional rating is not eligible to be included on the top 100 lists.

What is chess notation or “scorekeeping”?
Players can use chess notation to make a Q record of the moves that they make during a chess game. This is called
keeping score
of the game. The most popular system of chess notation is the algebraic system, but some players still use the older descriptive system. In most tournaments, players are required to keep score of their games. However, in quick chess tournaments and some scholastic tournaments, score keeping is optional.

What is algebraic notation?
Algebraic notation is the most popular form of chess notation. Each of the files (vertical columns) of a chessboard is labeled with a lowercase letter, and each of the ranks (horizontal rows) of a chessboard is labeled with a number. Starting on White’s left side, the eight files are identified with the letters a to h. Starting at White’s end of the board, each of the ranks is numbered 1 to 8. Each square is identified using the letter of its file and the number of its rank. Thus, the starting square for White’s queen rook is a1, and the starting square for Black’s king rook is h8. Pieces are identified using capital letters: K for king, Q for queen, R for rook, B for bishop, N for knight, and P (or no letter at all) for pawn. To write a chess move, write the uppercase letter for the piece that is moving followed by the name of the square that the piece is moving to. For example, if White begins by moving the pawn in front of his king two squares forward and Black responds by moving his king’s knight toward the center of the board, these two moves would be written as 1. Pe4 Nf6 or 1. e4 Nf6. We encourage you to learn algebraic notation at the same time that you learn the rules of the game. It’s much easier to talk about chess if you know the language.