chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

, a transposition is a sequence of moves that results in a position that may also be reached by another, more common sequence of moves. Transpositions are particularly common in the opening, where a given position may be reached by different sequences of moves. Players sometimes use transpositions deliberately, to avoid variations they dislike, lure opponents into unfamiliar or uncomfortable territory or simply to worry opponents. See review at To transpose is to play a move that results in a transposition. Transposition tables are an essential part of a

computer chess Computer chess includes both hardware (dedicated computers) and software capable of playing chess. Computer chess provides opportunities for players to practice even in the absence of human opponents, and also provides opportunities for analysi ...

program. Transpositions exist in other abstract strategy games such as

shogi , also known as Japanese chess, is a Strategy game, strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games in Japan and is in the same family of games as chess, Western chess, chaturanga, xiangqi, Indian chess, and janggi. ...

, Go, tic-tac-toe and Hex.

Examples

Positions reached by different routes

For instance, the first position can be obtained from the

Queen's Gambit The Queen's Gambit is the chess opening that starts with the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 It is one of the oldest openings and is still commonly played today. It is traditionally described as a '' gambit'' because White appears to sacrifice the ...

: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 e6 :3. Nc3 Nf6 But this position can also be reached from the

English Opening The English Opening is a chess opening that begins with the move: : 1. c4 A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, one of the four most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins ...

: :1. c4 e6 :2. Nc3 Nf6 :3. d4 d5 so the English Opening has transposed into the Queen's Gambit. The second position shows another example. The position can arise from the

French Defence The French Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e6 This is most commonly followed by 2.d4 d5. Black usually plays ...c5 soon after, attacking White's and gaining on the . The French has a reputation for solidity ...

: :1. e4 e6 :2. d4 d5 :3. exd5 exd5 :4. Nf3 Nf6 The identical position can also be reached, with two extra moves played by each side, from the Petrov Defense: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nf6 :3. Nxe5 d6 :4. Nf3 Nxe4 :5. d3 Nf6 :6. d4 d5 This third position shows another example. This position can be reached from the Exchange variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 e6 :3. Nc3 Nf6 :4. cxd5 exd5 :5. Bg5 Bb4 :6. Qc2 h6 The identical position can also be reached from the Classical variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defence: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 e6 :3. Nc3 Bb4 :4. Qc2 d5 :5. cxd5 exd5 :6. Bg5 h6

Transposition possibilities of some openings

Some openings are noted for their wide range of possible transpositions, for example the Catalan Opening and

Sicilian Defence The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the following moves: :1. e4 c5 The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4. The opening 1.d4 is a statistically more successful opening for Whi ...

. For a simple example, the opening moves 1.d4 e6 (the Horwitz Defence) can transpose very quickly into a wide range of openings, including:

References

{{chess Chess terminology