Chess words · Beginner
The words you will hear in your first match, grouped the way you meet them.
B · Beginner · 38 words · Step 1 of 2Basic setup terms
Board
The square board of 64 equal squares in an 8 x 8 grid, alternately light and dark.
Pieces
Each player has 16 pieces: a king, a queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. Each type moves in its own way.
Rank and file
The eight horizontal rows of the board are ranks and the eight vertical columns are files. A file letter and a rank number name each square, such as e4.
Also called: rank, file
See also: Board
White and Black
The two sides, named for the colour of their pieces. White always makes the first move, and then the players move alternately.
Also called: white, black
See also: Pieces
Basic objective and key terms
Check
A king is in check when one or more of the opponent's pieces attacks it. A player may not make a move that leaves their own king in check, so they must deal with the threat at once.
The ruleWhat is check in chess?Checkmate
A king is in check and there is no legal move to escape. The game ends at once as a win for the player who gave checkmate.
Stalemate
The player to move has no legal move and their king is not in check. The game ends at once as a draw.
Draw
A game that ends level, each player scoring half a point. It happens by stalemate, by agreement, when no series of legal moves could produce checkmate (a dead position), by a correct claim of the same position for a third time or of 50 moves without a pawn move or capture, and automatically after five repetitions or 75 such moves.
See also: Checkmate, Stalemate, Capture, Dead position, Scoring
Capture
Removing an opponent's piece by moving one of your own pieces onto its square.
See also: Pieces
Touch-move rule
A player who touches one of their own pieces with the intention of moving it must move that piece if it has a legal move, and one who touches an opponent's piece must capture it if they can. To adjust a piece, the player must first say so.
Resignation
A player may give up the game, which loses it. If the opponent could not possibly checkmate the player's king, the game is a draw instead.
Draw offer
A player offers a draw after making a move and before pressing the clock, with no conditions attached. The offer cannot be withdrawn and stays open until the opponent accepts or rejects it.
Repetition and fifty-move rule
A player with the move can claim a draw when the same position occurs for the third time, or when 50 moves by each side have passed without a pawn move or capture. The game is drawn automatically after five repetitions or 75 moves without a pawn move or capture.
Scoring
A win scores one point, a draw half a point and a loss none, unless the event's rules say otherwise.
Piece movement basics
King
Moves one square in any direction, or castles. A game is won by checkmating the opponent's king.
Queen
Moves any number of squares along a file, a rank or a diagonal, without jumping over pieces.
See also: Pieces, Rank and file
Rook
Moves any number of squares along a file or a rank, without jumping over pieces.
See also: Pieces, Rank and file
Knight
Moves to one of the nearest squares that is not on the same rank, file or diagonal, which makes an L shape. It is the only piece that can jump over others.
See also: Rank and file
Pawn
Moves forward one square, or two on its first move if both squares are empty. It captures one square diagonally forward. It cannot move backward.
Castling
A move of the king and a rook together. The king moves two squares towards the rook and the rook goes to the square the king crossed. It is not allowed if the king or that rook has moved, if a piece is between them, or if the king is in check, crosses an attacked square or lands on one.
The ruleHow does castling work in chess?En passant
A pawn capture. When an opponent's pawn moves two squares from its starting square and lands beside your pawn, you may capture it as if it had moved one square. It is allowed only on the very next move.
The ruleWhat is en passant in chess?Promotion
When a pawn reaches the far rank, it must be exchanged on that move for a queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same colour. The player is not limited to pieces already captured.
See also: Pieces, Rank and file, Queen, Rook, Bishop
The ruleWhat happens when a pawn reaches the other side of the board?Strategy terms
Opening
The initial phase of the game, focused on developing pieces and controlling the centre of the board.
Middlegame
The main tactical/strategic phase after development, where most complex fighting happens.
See also: Development
Endgame
The final phase, typically with fewer pieces remaining, often focused on pawn promotion and king activity.
Pin
Attacking a piece that can't safely move because doing so would expose a more valuable piece (often the king) behind it.
See also: King
Sacrifice
Deliberately giving up a piece (accepting a material loss) to gain a stronger positional or tactical advantage.
Tempo
The value of "time" in chess, gaining a tempo means making a move that also forces your opponent to react, effectively getting ahead in development.
See also: Development
Competitive and rating terms
Elo rating
A numerical system measuring a player's skill level based on match results against other rated players.
Grandmaster
The highest official title a chess player can earn, awarded based on rating and tournament performance.
Also called: GM
Time control
The time each player has for the game. Under the FIDE Laws, a rapid game gives each player more than 10 and fewer than 60 minutes, and a blitz game gives each player 10 minutes or less. Classical games are longer. Increments are counted as 60 moves when working out which category a game is in.
See also: FIDE
Notation
The standard way of recording moves. In algebraic notation each piece has a letter (K, Q, R, B, N), pawns have none, and a move such as Nf3 names the piece and the square it goes to. 0-0 is castling on the kingside and 0-0-0 on the queenside.
See also: Castling
FIDE
The international governing body of chess, from its French name Fédération Internationale des Échecs. It publishes the Laws of Chess and keeps the ratings and titles.
Chess clock
The two-sided clock that times both players. After making a move, a player presses their own clock to stop it and start the opponent's, using the same hand that made the move.
Rapid and blitz
Faster forms of chess. Rapid gives each player more than 10 and fewer than 60 minutes, and blitz gives 10 minutes or less.
Arbiter
The official who sees that the Laws of Chess are observed during play.
Also called: referee