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FRC/Chess960 – Chess Terms Glossary
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Last Updated 3/17/07
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FRCEC’s Glossary
Algebraic
Notation: There are many different ways to
write chess moves. Algebraic notation is the most common notation in use, and
is the official notation for Fischer Random Chess. For the ranks (or rows) of
the chess board it assigns the numbers '1' through '8' starting from the White
side. For the files (or columns) of the board it uses the letters 'a' through
'h', left to right from the White side. The square at the intersection of a
column and a row is identified by the letter for the column and the number for
the row.
FRC Position #383
White’s King is located at c1; Black’s Queen is at f8
The White Knights are at a1 and e1; the Black Bishops are
at g8 and h8
Each type of piece (other than pawns) is identified by an
uppercase letter, usually the first letter in the name of that piece in
whatever language is spoken by the player recording. English-speaking players
use K for king, Q for queen, R for rook, B for bishop, and N for knight (since
K is already used).
The chart below shows the initials for the pieces for some
common languages:
|
Language |
King |
Queen |
Rook |
Bishop |
Knight |
|
English |
K |
Q |
R |
B |
N |
|
Spanish |
R |
D |
T |
A |
C |
|
French |
R |
D |
T |
F |
C |
|
German |
K |
D |
T |
L |
S |
|
Dutch |
K |
D |
T |
L |
P |
|
Esperanto |
R |
D |
T |
K |
Ĉ |
|
Figurine |
♔ |
♕ |
♖ |
♗ |
♘ |
Look for the initials in other languages at the Wikipedia.
Notation of moves: Each move of a piece is indicated by the piece's letter,
plus the coordinate of the destination square. For example Be5 (move a bishop
to e5), Nf3 (move a knight to f3), c5 (move a pawn to c5—no initial is used in
the case of pawn moves). In some publications, the pieces are indicated by
graphical representations rather than by initials: for example, ♞c6. This is called figurine algebraic notation or FAN and
has the advantage of being language independent.
When a piece makes a capture, an x is inserted between the
initial and the destination square. For example, Bxe5 (bishop captures the
piece on e5). When a pawn makes a capture, the file from which the pawn
departed is used in place of a piece initial. For example, exd5 (pawn on the e-file
captures the piece on d5). Sometimes when it is unambiguous, a pawn capture is
indicated only by the files, e.g. exd, ed5 or ed.
En passant captures are specified by the capturing pawn's file of
departure, the x, and the square to which it moves (not the location of the
captured pawn), optionally followed by the notation "e.p."
Disambiguating
moves: If two (or more) identical pieces
can move to the same square, the piece's initial is followed by (in descending
order of preference):
·
The file of departure
if they differ
·
The rank of departure
if the files are the same but the ranks differ
·
Both the file and rank
if neither alone uniquely defines the piece (after a pawn promotion, if three
or more of the same piece able to reach the square).
For example, with two knights on g1 and d2, either of which
might move to f3, the move is indicated as Ngf3 or Ndf3, as appropriate. With
two knights on g5 and g1, the moves are N5f3 or N1f3. With three knights at g5,
g1 and d2, the moves are now Ng5f3, Ng1f3 or Nd2f3. As above, an x may be used
to indicate a capture: for example, Ngxf3, N5xf3 or Ng5xf3.
Pawn promotion: If a pawn moves to its last rank, achieving promotion,
the piece chosen is indicated after the move, for example e1Q, b8B. Sometimes
an "=" sign or brackets are used: f8=Q or f8(Q).
Castling is indicated by the special notations O-O for h-side
castling (or g-castling) and O-O-O for a-side castling (or c-castling). Refer
to our page for Fischer Random rules on Castling.
Check and
checkmate: A move which places the
opponent's king in check has the notation "+" added. Double check is
sometimes represented "++". Checkmate can likewise be indicated
"#".
End of game: The notation 1-0 at the end of the moves indicates that
white won, 0-1 indicates that black won, and ½-½ indicates a draw.
When annotating
chess-games, commentators frequently use question marks and exclamation points
to denote a move as bad or good. The symbols normally used are "??",
"?", "?!", "!?", "!", and
"!!". The corresponding symbol is juxtaposed in the text immediately
after the move (e.g. Re7? or Kh1!?). Use of these annotation symbols is always
somewhat subjective, and different annotators will often wind up using the same
symbols differently.
Summary of Algebraic Notation symbols:
·
x captures
·
O-O h-side castling
·
O-O-O a-side castling
·
e.p. en
passant capture
·
= plus “piece” promotes to “piece”. [i.e. g8=Q, pawn moves
to g8 and promotes to Queen]
·
(piece) promotes to “piece”. [i.e. a8(R),
pawn moves to a8 and promotes to Rook]
·
+ check
·
# checkmate
·
++ Sometimes used for double
check. FIDE allows it also for checkmate.
·
(=) draw offer
·
= draw agreed
·
1-0 White wins
·
0-1 Black wins
·
½-½ Draw
Punctuation
commonly used for the analysis of moves and positions:
·
! good move
·
!! excellent move
·
? bad move, a mistake
·
?? a blunder
·
!? interesting move that may
not be the best
·
?! dubious move, but not
easily refuted
·
□ the
only move
·
∞ position
unclear
·
= even
position
·
+/= (=/+) slight
advantage
·
+/– (–/+) advantage
·
+– (–+) decisive
advantage
Attack: To make a threat or threats against a specific piece,
pawn or area of the board. See also Discovered Attack,
Double Attack and Mating Attack.
Example:
T0022-M0224
Sagi Gabay
– Eton Chin
Position #129
After 13… O-O, Black has several attacks:
f-Rook against Queen, a-Bishop against h-Rook, b-Bishop
against Knight
Backrank Mate: A checkmate by a queen or a rook along the opponent’s
first rank where his king is blocked by his own pawns.
T0002.M0103
Martin Yates – Marc Wakeham
Position #587
After: 8… Qb1# backrank Mate!
This short game went like this:
[Position ID: 587 QRNKBRNB]
1.Nf3 Nd6 2.Nd3 Nf6 3.b3 g6 4.Qd4 a5 5.b4 Ne4 6.Ne5 axb4 7.Rxb4
Qxa2 8.Ra4 Qb1# 0-1
Backward
Pawn: A pawn whose neighbor pawns are more
advanced.
Backward Doubled Pawn: One of the bad categories of doubled pawns. A doubled
pawn whose neighbor pawns are at least as advanced as the front pawn. A
backward doubled pawn represents a more serious liability than a normal
backward pawn, because its backwardness generally cannot be remedied by advance
due to the obstruction of the front pawn. If the neighbor pawns are more
advanced than the front pawn, then they are called Doubly
Backward Doubled Pawns.
M0547
Diego Sueiro – Jose Carrillo
Position #379
Position after 10… dxe5
Black now has doubled pawns on the e-file, and a backward doubled pawn on e7.
Note that White has double
isolated pawns on the h-file.
Bad
Bishop: A bishop whos
movement is restricted by friendly pawns.
Bishop
Pair: A position where one player has two
opposite colored Bishops, and his opponent has only a Bishop or no Bishops on
the board.
Blockade: A term that describes the situation where the advance of
a pawn is prevented by an opponent's piece directly in front of the frustrated
pawn.
Blunder: A terribly bad move that results in a damaged position
where serious tactical or positional concessions are made, material is lost,
the game is lost, or causes a won-game to end as a draw. The notation for a
blunder is ??.
F2005-M0447
Jose Carrillo – Geir Smith-Meyer
Position #728
White just blundered
with 8.Ne5?? White completely missed 8… Bxe5, skewering the Queen.
White’s position deteriorated immediately, and he was mated
3 moves later.
The game ended with: 8… Bxe5 9.Qd3 Qa3+ 10.Kd2 Nb4 11.Qe2
Ne4#
Candidate
Move: Also known as candidates. A possible move in a given chess position as the
starting point in the analysis of a variation and deserving careful
consideration.
Castling: Castling is the only chess rule (other than the initial
setup) that had to be modified from Orthodox Chess. The four methods of castling
include: double-move castling, transposition castling, king-move-only castling
and rook-move-only castling. Refer to our page for Fischer
Random rules on Castling.
M0114
Paul Grosemans – Patrick Henry O'Neal
Position #490
Before and after 7.O-O-O
O-O, a-side castling by
White, and h-side castling by Black.
Check: It’s a threat to capture the King. When a player’s King
is in check, the player must remove
himself/herself from this threat immediately on his/her very next move by
either blocking the piece that is giving the check, by capturing the piece that is giving the check, or by moving the King out of the
checked square (but not by castling). In Short
Algebraic Notation, a check is indicated by the “+” symbol after the move. See
also Checkmate, Discovered Check, Double Check, Fork Check, and Family Check. Examples:
M0017
Jean-Pierre Avy – John Richardson
Position #075
In the left diagram Black has just played 6… Qc5+.
White removed the check
threat by blocking with 7.Nc3
Checkmate: It’s
the English rendition of ‘shāh māt’, which is
Persian for "the king is ambushed". It’s the ultimate Check! When the King can’t stop a check threat
by either blocking, or capturing the piece giving check, or by moving the King,
then the King is checkmated, and the game is over. In Short Algebraic Notation,
a check is indicated by the “#” symbol after the move. It’s also called Mate. See also Smothered Mate.
Examples:
M0219
Alice Wood – Michelle Buckley
Position #931
After 22…Bd3#
Q0001-M0238
S. Rosoft – Dan Valade
Position #918
After 33.Qb7#
Chess960: It’s another name the Fischer Random Chess (FRC) variant is known by.
Hans-Walter Schmitt (chairman of the Frankfurt Chess Tigers e.V.) is an
advocate of this chess variant, and he started a brainstorming process to
choose a new name for FRC. The new name had to obey the following requirements
on the parts of some leading grandmasters:
·
It should not use
parts of the name of any Grandmaster colleague
·
It should not include
negatively biased or "spongy" elements like "random" or
"freestyle"
·
It should be
understood worldwide.
This effort culminated in the name "Chess960",
deriving from the number of different initial positions.
Chess Origins and Variants: The game of chess as we know it today,
has remarkable differences from the original game. It is generally assumed that
chess originated in