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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Black plays 1. Bh3 ( via a4 or e8) Ke4; 2. Bh4 Rg6# ANDERSSEN THEME
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.
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).
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.
ANTI-CRITICAL Move
Move of the line piece through the critical square in order to avoid covering.
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.
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.
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. |
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