This page gathers the 299 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “Chess”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples. Page 1 of 3: from “accelerated dragon” to “engine move”.
- accelerated dragon noun A variation of the Sicilian Defence opening in which black plays g6 on the fourth move, allowing the bishop to be fianchettoed to Bg7.
- across the board prep_phrase Of a move or sequence of play, made in response to developments occurring in the game, as opposed to pre-planned or according to theory.
- adopt verb To beat an opponent ten times in a row.
- adoption noun Ten consecutive wins against an opponent.
- algebraic adj Describing squares by file (referred to in intrinsic order rather than by the piece starting on that file) and rank, both with reference to…
- algebraic notation noun A method for recording and describing the moves in a game of chess which employs a single uppercase letter for each piece and a…
- amazon noun A fairy chess piece which combines the moves of the queen and the knight.
- antipositional adj Not positional; not in the spirit of long-term strategic, positional play.
- Arabian mate noun A checkmate pattern in which a rook provides the checkmate to the cornered king while being protected by a knight that also covers the only…
- arbiter noun The person who oversees a chess match and ensures the rules are followed.
- archbishop noun A fairy chess piece which combines the moves of the bishop and the knight.
- armageddon noun A type of game, usually played when a match would otherwise end in a draw, where black wins drawn games and white is given more time as…
- attraction noun The sacrifice of pieces in order to expose the enemy king.
- b noun Abbreviation of bishop.
- back-rank mate noun A checkmate delivered by a major piece along the back rank against a king whose advancement is prevented by pieces of its own color (most…
- backward adj Of a pawn, further behind than pawns of the same colour on adjacent files and unable to be moved forward safely.
- backward pawn noun A pawn that is unable to advance without being threatened by an enemy pawn and is not defensible by pawns of the same color.
- battery noun Two or more pieces working together on the same rank, file, or diagonal
- Berlin Wall noun The Berlin Defence.
- bind noun A strong grip or stranglehold on a position, which is difficult for the opponent to break.
- bish noun A bishop.
- bishop noun The chess piece denoted ♗ or ♝ which moves along diagonal lines and developed from the shatranj alfil ("elephant") and was originally known…
- bitch noun A queen playing card or chess piece.
- bite on granite verb to face a diagonal occupied by two or more opposing pawns.
- black noun The person playing with the black set of pieces.
- Blind Swine Mate noun A checkmate pattern in which the king is confined to two squares at an edge of the board and then mated by two doubled rooks.
- blitz noun Ellipsis of blitz chess.
- blitz chess noun Chess played at a quick time control, with each side getting about five minutes to make their moves. Blitz chess is played at a variety of…
- blitz out verb To play moves very quickly, as if playing blitz chess.
- blockade noun The act of preventing an opponent's pawn moving by placing a piece in front of it.
- blunder noun A very bad move, usually caused by some tactical oversight.
- Boden's mate noun A checkmate pattern in which two bishops on criss-crossing diagonals deliver mate while the king is boxed in from the other side, usually…
- Bogo-Indian Defence noun A chess opening, a form of Indian Defence, characterised by the moves 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+.
- book noun The sum of chess knowledge in the opening or endgame.
- book up verb To study opening lines in great detail in order to gain an advantage.
- booked up adj Extremely knowledgeable in a particular opening as a result of intensive study.
- boom noun An instance of booming.
- Botez gambit noun A major blunder in which a player unintentionally hangs (“makes vulnerable”) a queen or other important piece without any tactical or…
- brilliancy noun A spectacular and beautiful game of chess, generally featuring sacrificial attacks and unexpected moves.
- bring verb To move a piece into a more active position, esp. to initially develop it.
- bughouse noun Clipping of bughouse chess
- bughouse chess noun A variant of chess played on two chessboards by four players in teams of two. Each player plays the other colour of pieces than their…
- bullet noun Ellipsis of bullet chess.
- bullet chess noun Chess played at an extremely fast time control, with each side getting one minute (or occasionally slightly more) total to make all their…
- bust noun A refutation of an opening, or of a previously published analysis.
- calculate verb To imagine sequences of potential moves and responses without actually moving the pieces.
- calculation noun The act or process of imagining sequences of potential moves and responses without actually moving the pieces.
- camel noun A fairy chess piece that is moved three squares in one direction and one at right angles to that direction in a single move, leaping over…
- Caro-Kann Defence noun A chess opening characterized by the moves 1.e4 c6, in which the white king's pawn advances two squares and the black king's bishop's pawn…
- castle noun An instance of castling.
- castled adj Describes that a piece castled. In normal chess the king.
- castler noun A chess problem whose solution involves castling.
- castling noun A move in which the king moves two squares towards a rook, and the rook moves to the other side of the king; the action of the verb to…
- centaur noun A chess-playing team comprising a human player and a computer who work together.
- chancellor noun A fairy chess piece which combines the moves of the rook and the knight.
- cheapo noun A primitive trap, often set in the hope of swindling a win or draw from a losing position.
- check noun A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece.
- checkmate intj Word called out by the victor when making a move that wins the game.
- checkmated adj Having a king in check with no possible move to escape check, thus losing the game.
- chess piece noun Any of the 16 white and 16 black pieces used in playing the game of chess.
- chessboard noun A square playing surface divided into eight rows and eight columns, forming sixty-four equal squares arranged in an alternating pattern of…
- classical noun Ellipsis of classical chess.
- classical chess noun Chess played at a slow time control, with games taking up to several hours (the most common format at professional tournaments).
- clearance noun Removal of pieces from a rank, file or diagonal so that a bishop, rook or queen is free to move along it.
- clock move noun A variant rule in chess in which a move is not considered final until the player touches the clock, as opposed to the standard touch move…
- Closed Game noun A chess opening characterized by the moves 1.d4 d5, in which both White and Black move their queen's pawn to the fourth rank with their…
- CM noun Initialism of Candidate Master.
- combination noun An advantageous sequence of forcing or nearly forcing moves, often initiated with a sacrifice.
- composition noun A puzzle created by the composer using chess pieces on a chessboard, which presents the solver with a particular task.
- contempt noun Ellipsis of contempt factor.
- contempt factor noun The score assigned to a draw during calculation, usually negative to discourage playing for a draw and encourage playing for a win.
- convert verb To transform a material or positional advantage into a win.
- cook noun An unintended solution to a chess problem, considered to spoil the problem.
- correspondence chess noun A form of chess where players use a remote method of communication such as the mail or the Internet to send each other their moves.
- counterplay noun A counterattack in a different part of the board.
- courtesan noun A fairy chess piece that can move to any adjacent square, that, when captured, the capturing piece is also eliminated.
- cover verb To protect or control (a piece or square).
- Cozio's mate noun A checkmate pattern in which a queen, supported by a piece of its same color, is placed diagonally adjacent to the enemy king. The two…
- crazyhouse noun A variant of chess, similar to bughouse chess but with only two players, allowing a player to place captured pieces back on the board as…
- dabbaba noun A fairy chess piece that jumps two squares orthogonally (i.e. not diagonally), leaping over any intermediate piece.
- dame noun A queen.
- deferred time noun The time when a tournament is paused due to time constraints, when a player's next move has been written down held until the tournament…
- deflection noun A tactic that forces an opposing piece to leave the square, rank or file it occupies, thus exposing the king or a valuable piece
- delay noun An amount of time provided on each move before one's clock starts to tick; a less common time control than increment.
- desperado noun A piece that seems determined to give itself up, typically to bring about stalemate or perpetual check.
- develop verb To place one's pieces actively.
- development noun The active placement of the pieces, or the process of achieving it.
- directmate noun A kind of chess problem in which White, moving first, must checkmate Black within a specified number of moves against any defence.
- discover verb To create by moving a piece out of another piece's line of attack.
- discovery noun A discovered attack.
- double check noun A check delivered by two pieces simultaneously.
- draw death noun The phenomenon of draws becoming more prevalent among professional chess players, potentially leading to a loss of popular interest in…
- dubious adj Generally considered imprecise or wrong, but not totally unplayable.
- dummy noun A fairy chess piece that cannot move or capture, but can be captured and used to skip moving another piece.
- elephant trap noun Often in the form Elephant Trap: a faulty attempt by White to win a pawn in a popular variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined, which is…
- elo noun Synonym of Elo rating.
- empress noun A fairy chess piece which combines the moves of the rook and the knight.
- en passant adj Of a capture, performed by a pawn on an enemy pawn that has just passed over its attack zone.
- endgame noun The final stage of a game of chess, when there are few pieces left.
- engine move noun An accurate move that is very atypical or difficult for a human to spot, e.g. because its implications are not immediately clear