There are hundreds of terms related to Chess. As you, no doubt, live a hectic and busy life, getting you to sit down and read every conceivable entry would, at a guess, not be welcomed, right?
However, knowing the terms can help give you a better understanding of this fascinating, 1400 year old game. So, what we've done is created a series of bite-sized collections of Chess Glossary terms.
Today's collection of 10 Chess Terms are as follows...
#1 Absolute Pin
A 'Pin' is a Chess Tactic which involves one unit attacking a less-valuable Pawn or Piece, which is sitting directly in front of a more-valuable enemy Piece.
When the Pin is "Absolute", the more-valuable enemy Piece is the opposition's King. Because of this, the less-valuable Pawn or Piece in front is unable to move out of the path of the attacking unit - it's "Absolutely Pinned, unable to get away from the threat".
#2 Bishop
One of the five Pieces. The Bishop is the Piece that can only move along the diagonal paths - they cannot move along the straights (the columns and rows of squares known as the Files and Ranks, respectively).
Each player gets two Bishops at the start of each game. One Bishops sits on a light-colored square, to the immediate right of its King; the other sits on a dark-colored square, to the immediate left of its Queen.
Either until the end of the game, or until captured, each Bishop must remain confined to the same color of square that it starts upon (e.g. Bishops on the dark-colored squares can only move and capture diagonally, along the dark-color squares).
#3 Center
For the help of planning strategies, instead of just seeing 32 light-colored squares and 32 dark-colored squares, the chessboard can be split-up, in your mind, into a series of 'Zones'.
The 'Center' zone includes the 16 most-central squares in the very middle of the board.
Chess Notation is a method, or system, that gives a unique reference to the individual squares and is used to record actions during games of chess (e.g. moves, captures, etc.).
As far as the 'Center' is concerned, Chess Notation - using the Algebraic system - marks the area as including squares c3-c6-f6-f3-c3.
#4 Dark Squares
The chessboard is made up of a total of 64 squares, arranged in a checkered pattern of 32 light-colored squares and 32 dark-colored squares.
#5 ECO
This is an abbreviation for the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings and is a system that's used to classify the myriad of opening moves (the sequence that features at the very start of games of chess).
The ECO system is split into five categories: A) Flank Openings; B) Semi-Open Games; C) Open Games; (D) Closed Games and Semi-Closed Games; (E) Indian Defenses.
#6 FEN
The modern system for recording moves in games of chess is Algebraic Chess Notation. However, during the 19th Century, some newspapers used the Forsyth Notation system, for publishing specific Chess positions. The notation takes the name of its creator, David Forsyth.
More recently, Steven J. Edwards adopted the Forsyth Notation system for use in chess software, such as Fritz 12, Rybka 4, etc. The renamed Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) system enables a computer program to interpret the precise position of each of the Pawns and Pieces, so it can display them on the screen.
#7 Gambit
A Gambit is a sacrificing strategy, played out in the opening phase of a game of chess. Gambits are made by the player who controls White's army. The objective is to tempt Black to capture the unit - usually a Pawn - in order to gain a better position on the board.
#8 Half-Open File
We've already mentioned how the chessboard can be visualized as a series of Zones. Well, a File is one such zone and there are eight of them (8 columns, or vertical lines of 8 individual squares).
At the beginning of a game, each side has a Pawn on each of the 8 Files. At this point, the Files are said to be 'Closed'. When one player doesn't have any Pawns on a File, but their opponent does, then that File is said to be a "Half-Open File".
#9 ICC
This is the abbreviation for the "Internet Chess Club" - a website that allows people to play chess against each other online. The standard of players can be high, with Grandmasters regularly battling it out.
#10 J'adoube
When playing games of chess using a proper chess set (i.e. with pieces you can pick up; not computer or internet-based chess games), it's possible to accidentally nudge a Pawn or Piece out of the boundary of the square it's sitting on.
Usually, when a player touches a Pawn or Piece, they have to move it. However, if a player spots that a Pawn or Piece is stepping over into a neighboring square, they can bring attention to their intention to re-position the unit properly.
To do this, the player says "J'adoube", which is a French word meaning "I adjust". Basically, you're telling your opponent that you're not making a formal move, just re-aligning one or more of your troops.
And that concludes this collection (#1) of 10 Chess Glossary terms.
