Glossary

Glossary - A

ABANDON

To give up all concern in a game or formally stating a voluntary decision to give up a game because of discouragement, weariness, distaste etc.

Kortschnoj, Viktor (2580) - Van der Stricht, Geert (2468)
EU-chT (Men) 14th Plovdiv (7.1), 2003.10.18
1.c4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.d4 Bb4+ 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Bd3 O-O 7.Nf3 Re8+ 8.Be3 Bg4 9.O-O Nbd7 10.Qb3 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Bxf3 12.gxf3 Nb6 13.c5 Nc4 14.Rae1 Qc8 15.Kg2 b6 16.cxb6 axb6 17.Bc1 Qa6 18.Bb1 h6 19.Rg1 Qc8 20.Qd1 Qd7 21.Kh1 Rxe1 22.Qxe1 Re8 23.Qf1 Kh8 24.Bf4 Rg8 25.Qg2 c6 26.Bc1 Qe6 27.Bd3 b5 28.Qg3 Ne8 29.Bf4 Ned6 30.Qh4 Re8 31.Qh5 Qf6 32.Rg4 Re1+ 33.Kg2 Re8 34.Bg3 Rg8 35.Be5 Qe6 36.Rg6 1-0

In this position the Belgian player decided to stop the clocks, sign his scoresheet and shake the hand of his opponent.

At the postmortem he discovered that after Nxe5, Rxe6 and Nxd3 he had in fact been winning the game.


ACADEMY, Chess

Where indoor games were played -

The first chess academy was conducted at Fontainebleau, France in 1680.

Academies des jeux is also a French title for books published in the 17th and 18th centuries describing indoor games and amusement.

.

ACCELERATED Pairing System

A Swiss System pairing method starting with four groups instead of the usual two; it is designed to produce a clear winner in as few rounds as possible.

ACCEPT

To take - an offered pawn – Like in the Queen’s Gambit, Accepted 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4. Antonym: declined.

ACTIVE Chess

The first official (FIDE) Active Chess (30 minutes per game) tournament was held in Gijon, Spain in 1988 and won by Anatoly Karpov and Valdimir Tukmakov. The same year, Karpov won the first World Active Championship beating Viktor Gavrikov in final.

In 1989 FIDE replaced the name Active Chess with Rapid Chess (see Rapid Chess).

ADJOURNMENT

Adjournment of tournament games is performed at the expiry of time assigned for play, if the game is not finished. On adjournment, the player holding the last move does not play it on board but writes it down on his scoresheet, which should be sealed and kept by the arbiter until the resumption of game. The idea behind this procedure is to ensure that the player making the last move on resumption has no disadvantage vis a vis his opponent who does not depend on time in analyzing the position. First introduced in 1878, this practice was adopted by FIDE in the Laws of Chess where it was laid out in detail. For date and time of continuation often have to be agreed upon by the opponents, it may lead to superfluous elongation of tournaments or matches. Organizers usually try to avoid such situations by forcing contenders to play a certain number of moves within a certain period of time (e.g. 40 moves per 2 hours followed by 20 moves per 1 hour). With the recent introduction of the electronic chess clock, set up to add some time (e.g. 30 seconds), per move (formally to allow players to put down their moves), it becomes practically impossible to create a situation where an adjournment is required.

ADJUDICATION

Up to the 1990s, games not finished within a specified time period were adjudicated by a strong player who determines the outcome of the game.

ADOUBE (j’)

” I adjust” - in French - the expression used when a piece is adjusted on its square without any intention to move it ‘officially’. Coming from Flemish, where it appeared as Schodop and later came into old Northern French as J'odeupe or J'adoube.

ADVANTAGE

It presupposes a favourable imbalance of powers and conditions for attacking initiative over the board. Superiority in the number or the so-called total weight of pieces is called material advantage. Positional advantage implies a better positioning, development and interaction of the pieces control over strategic areas and possession of playing lead. Time advantage in the early stages of games, gives way for faster development, thus, contributing to augmentation of positional advantage, and, perhaps, conversion into material advantage.

Spassky, Boris V - Parma, Bruno
Havana ol (Men) fin-A Havana (11), 1966
1.Qe7 Nc2! 2.Rad8 Rfd2 3.Qe6 Ne3 4.Ne7 Qb4 5.Ng6 Rxd6 6.Qe7 g3 7.Rf6 c5 8.Rfxd6 Rxd6 1-0
ADVANCED Pawn

A term that describes a pawn which has passed the central meridian of the board (between the fourth and fifth ranks), like in the French Defence with the pawn on e5.

ALBINO

Theme for composer first achieved by Sam Loyd. A White Pawn between b2 and g2 is moved in different variations, in every possible way, two forward moves and two captures, each preceded by or following different black moves.

Wainwright, J.C. - NN
Mate in 2 moves, 1886
1.Bb4
threat 2. e3#
1...Rxf3
1...d3 2.exd3#
1...exf3 2.e4#
2.exf3# *
ALGEBRAIC NOTATION

A board location notation in which the ranks are numbered from 1 (white's home rank) to 8 (black's home rank), and the files are lettered from `a' (queen's rook's file) to `h' (king's rook's file), and spaces are denoted by their file letter followed by their rank number. The first use of algebraic notation is from a French manuscript written in 1173. The first use of the figurine algebraic notation occurred in Belgium inside L’Echiquier in 1927.

ALFIL

Arabic for elephant. Also a Bishop in Spanish. A (2,2) leaper. Found in shatranj and replaced in chess, in Europe, by the bishop around 1500.

ALL-PLAY-ALL

A tournament in which all players meet eachother. Another name for this is Round Robin tournament.

ALLUMWANDLUNG

An Allumwandlung (German for “complete promotion”, sometimes shortened to AUW) is a chess problem where, at some stage in the solution, a pawn (or sometimes pawns) is promoted variously to a Knight, Bishop, Rook and Queen, in fairy chess, possibly to fairy pieces.

Caillaud, Michel - Selfmate in 18#
1st Prize Ernst Hasselkus G.T., 2002
1.h8=Q! Ka7 2.Qa1+ Ba6+ 3.Kc5 Ka8 4.f8=B Ka7 5.Bd6 Ka8 6.c8=R+ Ka7 7.c7 Kb7 8.Rb8+ Ka7 9.Rb4 Ka8 10.Kc6 Ka7 11.c8=N+ Ka8 12.Nb6+ Ka7 13.Nd7 Ka8 14.Qa5 Ka7 15.Bc5+ Ka8 16.Qd8+ Bc8 17.Kb5 Kb7 18.Qa5 Bxd7# 0-1
ALPHA-BETA pruning

A technique used by computer programmers to cut down the number of possible moves a computer has to evaluate before choosing the best move.

AMATEUR

Any chess player ranked below master level or who does not live by chess. For FIDE or ECU it is a player with a rating below 2200 ELO. The first World Amateur Championship was organized in 1924 but the competition was discontinued in 1928 only to be revived after 68 years by Stewart Reuben. Since then a World Amateur Championship and a European Amateur Championship are yearly organized.

AMAZON

A Fairy chess piece that possesses the power of both the Queen and the Knight. This piece was also used in orthodox chess until the 18th century in Europe. Also known as a Maharaja.

AMERICAN CHESS BULLETIN

American chess magazine published from 1904 to 1963. Monthly (November-April); bi-monthly (May-October).

Editors: Hartwig Cassel (1904-1917); Hermann Helms (1904-1956);Edgar Holladay (1956-63). Printed in New York. “A magazine Devoted to the Interests of all Branches of the Royal Game, Home and Abroad”.

Official publication of the United States Chess Federation until 1933.

AMERICAN CHESS MAGAZINE

US monthly publication published from October 1846 until September 1847. New York, E.Martin-London,Wiley 4 Putnam, 1846-7. Editor Charles Henry Stanley.

Then from 1892 until 1893: Vol.1,no.1-11/12, March 1892 until September/October 1893.Publisher Boston (Mass.),Press of G.H.Walcott,jr.,1892-3. Editor George H. Walcott.

Then 1897 until December 1899. Vol. 1-3. Publisher New York, W. Borsodi 1897-99. Editors Charles Devide (June-September 1897), L. D. Broughton (October 1897).

AMERICAN CHESS QUATERLY

American quarterly chess magazine . No.1-No.16. Summer 1961 -1965.

Publisher Cambridge (Mass.),Nature Food Centers Inc.,1961.

Editor Larry Evans Edited by Larry Evans.

.

..

.

ANALYSIS of the game

The examination of the played (own or somebody’s) game.

In the course of the analyzing all the mistakes made by partners are displayed as well as possible causes of their appearance thus leads to the perfection of chess skills.

.

One of the first books on chess published by Philidor in the 18th century.

ANALYSIS of the position

This is an examination and calculation of the possible variations and appreciation of the position arising from a given position. In contradiction to home analysing a study of new positions, played games, preparations to adjourned game or correspondence chess. While playing a game, a chessplayer conducts analysis without any movement of chessmen, in the conditions of limited time which demands capability to quickly and sharply imagine the different positions. The class of the play mainly depends on this talent.

ANCHOR RING

A combination of vertical and horizontal cylinder boards, used for Fairy Problem, so that not only do the a- and h-files adjoin, but also the 1st and 8th rank, and the board has no edges at all. It is sometime diagrammed without edges.

Van der Ven, A.M.A.. - Help-mate in 2 moves
Magyar Sakkvilag, 1936
*

Black plays 1. Bh3 ( via a4 or e8) Ke4; 2. Bh4 Rg6#

ANDERSSEN THEME
Anderssen Theme - Mate in 4 moves
1842
1.Bh5 Kxh5 2.Kg7 h6 3.Kf6 Kh4 4.Kg6# 1-0
ANNOTATION

Written commentary on the moves of a game, most helpful when authored either by one of the competitors or by a highly ranked player. In the game below Mikhail Gurevich annotated one game.

Gurevich, Mikhail (2644) - Reuss, Andreas (2356)
Bundesliga 0405 Germany, 2004.11.13
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bf4 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Nf3 Qa5 7.Bd3
7.Nd2 Be7 8.Bd3 Qd8 9.O-O dxc4 10.Nxc4 Nb6 11.Rc1 Nxc4 12.Bxc4 Nd5 13.Be5 Bd6 14.Bxd6 Qxd6 15.e4 Nxc3 16.Rxc3 Bd7 17.Re1 O-O 18.e5+= 1-0 Eljanov,P-Kaliuzhny,A/Alushta 2001/EXT 2002 (35)
7...Ne4? N 7...dxc4 8.Bxc4 Nd5 9.O-O Nxf4 10.exf4 Bb4 11.Rc1 1/2-1/2 Alonso,R-Perez Candelario,M/Campillos ESP 2004/The Week in Chess 486 (11)
8.Bxe4 dxe4 9.Ng5! e5
9...Nf6 10.O-O Qf5 11.f3!?
10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.O-O!?
11.Bxe5 Qxe5 12.Qd8+ Kxd8 13.Nxf7+ Ke8 14.Nxe5 Bd6 15.f4 exf3 16.Nxf3 Be6
11.Ngxe4 Nxc4 12.O-O Be6
11...f5
11...Nxc4 12.Qc2!?
( 12.Qd4 Qc5 13.Qxe4+ Be7=+ ) 12...Be7 13.Ncxe4 Ne5 14.b4! Qc7 15.Qc3+/-
11...Bf5 12.Qb3 b6 13.Rad1!?+/-
11...f5 Diagram
12.Nb5!! h6?!
12...cxb5 13.Bxe5 Qb6
( 13...bxc4 14.Bxg7! Bxg7 15.Qh5+ Kd8 16.Qf7+- ) 14.Qd5 Qg6 15.Qxb5+ Qc6 16.Qd5+/-
13.Qd4!
13.Qd4 hxg5 14.Qxe5+ Kf7
( 14...Be7 15.Nd6+ ) 15.Nd6+ Bxd6 16.Qxa5 gxf4 17.exf4+-
1-0
ANTI-BATTERY

Two units of the same side, the "front piece" and the "rear piece" form :

¨       a (direct) anti-battery if the presence of the front piece allows the rear piece to threat the opposite King.

¨       an indirect anti-battery if the presence of the front piece allows the rear piece to control a square of the opposite King's field.

ANTI-Bristol W.E

.

The interference of one black piece by another like-moving one on the same line (if the pieces are on different lines, it is a Holzhausen).

Sutter, A. - Mate in 3 moves
1st Honorable Mention Parallele-50, 1950
1.Kg8
On 1. Nde5?Bxe5 and on 1. Be5 Rxe5
1...Bh2
1...Rh4 2.Nde5 Bxe5 3.Ng5#
2.Be5 Rxe5 3.Nd6# 1-0

ANTICIPATION W.E

.

if the theme and setting of a particular problem has already appeared in an earlier problem without the knowledge of the later composer, the problem is said to be anticipated. The position does not have to be exactly the same, just very similar. Where this is done deliberately by the later composer, the term plagiarised is more appropriate. There is a real chance of anticipation if the problem has a relatively simple theme, since there are only a finite number of positions and themes, and chess problems have been composed for hundreds of years. However, anticipations are not always noticed immediately.

Shinkman, W. - Mate in 2 moves, ..
Huddersfield College Magazine, 1877
1.Ba4 Kxd5
1...d6 2.Nbc7#
1...f6 2.Ndc7#
1...f5 2.Qg8#
1...e4 2.Qxe4#
2.Bb3# 1-0
ANTI-CRITICAL Move

Move of the line piece through the critical square in order to avoid covering.

Sutter, A. - Mate in 3 moves
1st Honorable Mention Parallele-50, 1950
1.Kg8
On 1. Nde5?Bxe5 and on 1. Be5 Rxe5
1...Bh2
1...Rh4 2.Nde5 Bxe5 3.Ng5#
2.Be5 Rxe5 3.Nd6# 1-0

Parrying the threat, black makes anti-critical moves (1...Bh2 and 1...Ra5) in order to avoid checkmate Rf4 or Sc5, but at the same time these moves are critical ones, because the new mates (3. Sd6# and 3.Sg5#) appear as a result of the covering.

ANTILOP

A 3,4 leaper used in Fairy chess.

ARBITER

A supervisor, umpire or a director of a tournament who ensures that an event conforms to the laws and regulations and judges conflicts and disputes. An arbiter's job may also include other duties, such as the inspection of a tournament site, carrying out pairings, demonstration of games, etc. Nominated by national chess federations, a given arbiter may become international if he fulfills FIDE’ regulation conditions. Since 1951, FIDE has awarded International Arbiter titles every year.

ARCHBISHOP

In Fairy Chess, a bishop which can reflect off one board-edge; e1-a5-d8 in a path

ARROW Bishop

A Fairy chesspiece invented by W. Hagemann that move like a normal Bishop except when giving a check. It then covers the two squares that are orthogonally adjacent to the King.

ASHTAPADA

A 64-square uncheckered gaming board used in India as early as the 2nd century B.C. and borrowed for chess.

ATTACK

An active threat against an enemy piece or position.

Reshevsky, S. - Vaganian, R.
Skopje 21/170, 1976
1.e5!! fxe5 2.Ndxe5 dxe5 3.Bh4+ Kxh4 4.Rxf3 Rf1 5.Qb4+ Bf4 6.Qe7+ Bg5 7.Qe6 Bf5 8.Rxf5 Nf4 9.Qxe5 Qg4 10.Rf7 Qh5 11.Ne7 g4 12.Ng6+ Kg3 13.Bd7 Rae1 14.Qd6 Bh6 15.Raf8 0-1

Minority Attack is a term used in an attack of minor pieces against a majority of minor pieces with the objective of creating a weakness in his position, as in the Queen’s Gambit Declined.

Minority - attack
London
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 c6 7.Qc2 Nbd7 8.Bd3 O-O 9.Nf3 Re8 10.O-O Nf8 11.Rab1 a5 12.a3 *

AXEDREZ

The Spanish word for chess. Portuguese player Damiano wrote a Spanish book suggesting chess was invented by Xerxes and should be named after Xerxes, hence, the word Axedrez.