This glossary of chess explains commonly used terms in

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

, in alphabetical order. Some of these terms have their own pages, like '' fork'' and ''

pin A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch de ...

''. For a list of unorthodox chess pieces, see Fairy chess piece; for a list of terms specific to chess problems, see

Glossary of chess problems This glossary of chess problems explains commonly used terms in chess problems, in alphabetical order. For a list of unorthodox pieces used in chess problems, see Fairy chess piece; for a list of terms used in chess is general, see Glossary of ch ...

; for a list of named opening lines, see List of chess openings; for a list of chess-related games, see

List of chess variants This is a list of chess variants. Many thousands of variants exist. The 2007 catalogue ''The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants'' estimates that there are well over 2,000, and many more were considered too trivial for inclusion in the catalogue. ...

A

B

, "lightning"] A #fast chess, fast form of chess with a very short

time limit A time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or a particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished. Once that time has passed, the item may be considered overdue (e.g., for work projects or school assignments). In ...

, usually three or five minutes per player for the entire game. With the advent of electronic

chess clocks A chess clock consists of two adjacent clocks with buttons to stop one clock while starting the other, so that the two clocks never run simultaneously. Chess clocks are used in chess and other two-player games where the players move in turn, and ...

, the time remaining is often incremented by one or two seconds per move.Schiller 2003, p. 398 Bughouse game animation

C

D

E

F

G

, "Protect the Queen!"] An announcement to the opponent that their queen is under direct attack, similar to the announcement of "check". This warning was customary until the early 20th century.

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

, "to bungle").Kaan 2016, p. 19 See also #woodpusher, woodpusher.

Q

R

S

, "jumper"] Alternative notation for the #knight, knight. Used rather than K, which means

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

T

U

V

W

X

Z

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * (1989 reprint by Chartwell Books, ) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Glossaries of sports

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...