chesskid_glossary1-25

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A number which describes a chess player's level of skill, on a scale from 100 to about 3000. （See "rating"）. The system was invented by Arpad ~; the player's ~ rating goes up if he/she wins, and down if he/she loses. More points are gained by beating a higher-rated player, and more points are lost by losing to a lower-rated player.

A maneuver which activates a rook by moving it up and to the side, in front of its own pawns. Usually, a rook is ~ed on the third or fourth rank. This is an alternative to activating a rook by moving it to an open file.

The term "~" means that you have reached the moment in the game where every move you and your opponent make could ~ the "result" （meaning who wins） the game. The "~" is considered to be one of the most, if not the most, important moment in the game and it is usually the move where both players will take a lot of time on their chess clock （see "clock"）.

A game beginning with the move 1.e4, followed by any move other than 1...e5. For example, a Sicilian defense （1.e4 c5）, French defense （1.e4 e6）, Caro-Kann defense （1.e4 c6） or others. See also "open game" and "closed game".A position which is somewhat open （having many open files and diagonals, and few blocked pawn） and somewhat closed （having blocked pawns and few open lines）.

The most commonly played moves in an opening （see "opening"）. An opening variation that has been played a lot and is very popular. Example: "The game followed a ~. So many players had already played the first fifteen moves before."

The player with the ~ is the one who is creating threats. It is usually good to have the ~ because your opponent may easily make mistakes while trying to defend against your threats.

A ~ is a bad move that changes the course （direction） of the game. For example, if a player is in an equal position and "makes a move that is a ~" his/her position can be immediately worse, and sometimes losing. In chess notation （see "symbols"）, a ~ is often given the "??" symbol. Example: "Jane moved her queen to a square that was guarded by the enemy knight. Her opponent immediately captured the queen for free. Jane realized afterward that she lost the game because she had ~ed away her queen".

A move that doesn't change the position. A ~ is often played to pass the move to the opponent.

The word ~ is another way of saying "setup". A strong （good） ~ or setup of your pieces might have them all placed in the center （see "center"） of the board, or it might mean that your pieces are on good squares to attack （see "attack"）."A good attacking ~" means "a good setup for your pieces to start an attack".

A ~ is something a player requests during a tournament when her/she is unable to play the game that round. A ~ must be requested from the Arbiter/Tournament Director （see either "arbiter" or "tournament director"） well before the start of the round. Example: "Michael requested a ~ for round 2 of the four round chess tournament so that he could go and play his soccer game".

To ~ is to leave a place; in chess, ~ing means to clear one of your own pieces out of the way so another one of your pieces can use that square or file （see "file"）. There can be ~ing sacrifices, where you intentionally lose one of your own pieces to make way for a different one.

A square, usually in the opponent's side of the board, that can never be protected by a pawn. ~s make great posts （see also "outpost"） for your pieces, especially knights.

A German word meaning "in-between move". An - often unexpected - move inserted in a forcing sequence of moves, which changes the result of the sequence.

Short for "sacrifice".

An opening up of the position, usually with a pawn push or a sacrifice.

A group of openings that are usually reached by Black meeting the move 1.d4 with 1...Nf6. This includes all defenses to the main 1.d4 openings except for the Queen's Gambit.

To ~ is to play something other than the main line （see "main line" and also see "sideline"）. If a player ~s in the opening, he or she is playing something that is not common or expected.

A ~ is a small trick or tactic （see "tactic"） for which the opponent is unlikely to fall.

J'Adoube is French for "~" （see "adjust"）. If a piece is sitting a little bit out from the center of a square on the chessboard, you may want to fix it. But according to the touch move rule you would have to move any piece you touch. So you need to say "~" before fixing the piece. Many players say "~", since this is understood by chess players everywhere.

There is ~ in a position when both players' pieces are arranged in exactly the same way. If the board were folded in half at the middle, each piece would land on the same kind of opposing piece. For example, a white rook would land on a black rook, a white bishop would land on a black bishop, etc. At the beginning of a game, the position is ~ical. There can also be ~ just in pawn structure, when each side's pawns look exactly the same, but the pieces might be placed differently.

An "~" is a move that is not allowed under the rules of chess. The rules of chess are in place to guide the players to know what moves are allowed, and what moves are not allowed. So, an ~ is a move that is ~.

A move or plan is ~ if it cannot be defeated even if your opponent play the best moves. An attack that is ~ is one that, even if the defender defends perfectly, will still give the attacker a good position.

v.To ~ is to make your position solid again. You often need to ~ after you have won material or accepted a sacrifice.

~, or time trouble, happens when a player has very little time to play his or her moves. This means that the player cannot think for a long time and it often leads to mistakes. It usually happens if a player used too much time （see "clock"） earlier in the game, and not much time is left in the time control. See "time control".（8 letters）

A situation where one player can check the opponent's king forever, but cannot checkmate it. ~ is a draw if the side giving the checks wants it. When ~ happens, the players usually either agree to a draw or the same position is repeated three times, resulting in a draw by threefold repetition. See "threefold repetition".