Chess Terms Glossary

This page provides definitions for common chess terms. For a more comprehensive list, see the Wikipedia Chess Glossary.

Term Definition
Absolute pin A pin against the king; the pinned piece cannot legally move.
Active Describes a piece or position with many options or influence, or a player making threats.
Advantage A better position, either materially or positionally.
Algebraic notation The standard system for recording chess moves using coordinates (e.g., e4, Nf3).
Back rank The row where each player's pieces start (rank 1 for White, rank 8 for Black).
Back rank mate Checkmate delivered by a rook or queen along the back rank, usually when the king is blocked by its own pawns.
Battery A formation where two or more pieces are lined up on the same file, rank, or diagonal to support each other.
Blunder A very bad move that results in a significant loss of material or position.
Blockade A situation where a piece prevents an enemy pawn from advancing.
Book move A move found in opening theory ("the book").
Castling A special move involving the king and a rook, used to safeguard the king and connect the rooks.
Check A move that attacks the opponent's king, requiring an immediate response to remove the threat.
Checkmate A position where the king is in check and cannot escape, ending the game in victory for the attacker.
Closed position A position with many pawns blocking the center, limiting piece mobility.
Combination A sequence of moves, often involving a sacrifice, to achieve a specific goal.
Discovered attack An attack revealed when one piece moves out of the way of another.
Discovered check A discovered attack where the revealed attack is a check.
Double check A check delivered by two pieces simultaneously.
Draw A game that ends with no winner, either by agreement, stalemate, threefold repetition, or insufficient material.
En passant A special pawn capture that can occur immediately after an opponent moves a pawn two squares forward from its starting position.
Endgame The final phase of the game, usually when few pieces remain and the focus is on promoting pawns and checkmating the king.
Fianchetto A development of a bishop to the second rank of the adjacent knight's file, often after moving the pawn in front of it.
Fork A tactic where a single piece attacks two or more of the opponent's pieces at the same time.
Gambit An opening strategy where material is sacrificed to gain a positional or tactical advantage.
Open file A file with no pawns of either color.
Opening The initial phase of the game, where players develop their pieces and control the center.
Passed pawn A pawn with no opposing pawns to prevent it from advancing to promotion.
Pin A tactic where a piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece behind it to capture.
Promotion When a pawn reaches the farthest rank, it is promoted to another piece, usually a queen.
Skewer A tactic where a valuable piece is attacked and, when it moves, a less valuable piece behind it is captured.
Stalemate A situation where a player has no legal moves and their king is not in check, resulting in a draw.
Zwischenzug An "in-between move" played before an expected reply, often changing the outcome of a tactic.