rapid chess

Carlsen won his last championship in 2016 by winning the last two rapid-chess games when it went to the final day. And the World Chess Federation ranks him number one at rapid chess.

2018 November 27, Kabir Chibber, “What will happen on the final day of the World Chess Championship”, in Quartz:

(chess) Chess played at a relatively quick time control, with each side getting about 15 minutes to make their moves.


ultrabullet chess

(chess, Internet, rare) Alternative form of ultrabullet.


ultrabullet

At the tender age of 20, Penguingm1 is already one of the best hyperbullet and ultrabullet chess players in the world.

2020 October 1, Aaron Alford, “Cloud9 signs grandmaster chess player Penguingm1”, in Dot Esports:

Firouzja’s surprise loss to Fedoseev this week was partly attributed to his preference for 1+0 bullet without the one second per move increment. And there are plenty who consider even 1+0 bullet too slow, and prefer to play hyperbullet, 30 seconds, or ultrabullet, 15 seconds for the entire game without increment.

2020 November 6, Leonard Barden, “Chess: Magnus Carlsen showcases his bullet skills with 11 straight wins”, in The Guardian:

Nakamura is a deadly performer at time rates ranging from 25-minute rapid right down to online "ultrabullet", where each player has 15 seconds for the entire game.

2021 August 18, “Nakamura unbeaten for 27 games; Sinquefield Cup starts in St Louis”, in Financial Times:

(chess, Internet) Chess played at an extremely fast time control, with each side getting 15 seconds to make their moves.


hyperbullet chess

(chess, Internet, rare) Alternative form of hyperbullet.


hyperbullet

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(chess, Internet) Chess played at an extremely fast time control, with each side getting 30 seconds to make their moves.


draw death

The memorization of opening theory and the intensive study of an opponent's oeuvre so dominate the modern game that when two grand masters square off, the first twenty moves unfold like a stale sitcom plot. Players often lament that "draw death" is killing the game.

2002 December 8, Rene Chun, “Bobby Fischer’s Pathetic Endgame”, in The Atlantic:

Artificial intelligence has heightened chess’s old fear of "draw death", where the game is analysed to the degree that wins disappear.

2021 November 26, John Gapper, “Chess faces stalemate in its match with machines”, in Financial Times:

(chess) The phenomenon of draws becoming more prevalent among professional chess players, potentially leading to a loss of popular interest in competitive chess.


International Master

en-noun

International Master (plural International Masters)

(chess) A chess player of high ability but below the level of Grandmaster, as determined by FIDE.


booked up

en-adj

booked up (comparative more booked up, superlative most booked up)

more booked up (comparative)
most booked up (superlative)

This line is not by any stretch of the imagination considered a critical line, but it does take the players out of mainstream theory, where Giri typically is hardcore booked up.

2022 March 11, Carsten Hansen, “2022 FIDE Grand Prix Belgrade Semifinals Day 2: Rapport Magic”, in Chess:

Not only that, he managed to get the incredibly well-booked up US-Cuban star out of book on move 8, and then to give checkmate.

2022 July 21, Colin McGourty, “Zagreb GCT 1: Firouzja leads as new chess era begins”, in Chess24:

(chess, slang) Extremely knowledgeable in a particular opening as a result of intensive study.


clock move

(chess) A variant rule in chess in which a move is not considered final until the player touches the clock, as opposed to the standard touch move rule.


anti-Sicilian

(chess) Countering the Sicilian Defense.


patzerish

patzerish (comparative more patzerish, superlative most patzerish)

more patzerish (comparative)
most patzerish (superlative)

Ng4!? would be too direct (patzerish) […]

2016, Andras Adorjan, Black is Back!: What's White's Advantage Anyway?, New in Chess, →ISBN, page 145:

(chess, informal, derogatory) Characteristic of a patzer; indicating a lack of skill; amateurish.


Giuoco Piano

From Italian Giuoco Piano, from giuoco+piano.


Balbo's game

A variant of the game of chess, with a novel board shape with 70 squares, and each player commanding a full chess army minus one pawn. There is no castling, and promotion squares are specially defined.


Benko Gambit

Promoted by Hungarian-American grandmaster Pal Benko, who provided many new suggestions and published his book The Benko Gambit in 1974.

(chess) A chess opening characterized by the moves 3...b5 in the Benoni Defence.


Gibbins-Weidenhagen Gambit

Named after Stanley Gibbins, an English player from Derby who played the gambit by mail in the 1960s, and Rolf Weidenhagen, a German player, from a comment in 1960 that Weidenhagen had played the gambit.

(chess) A chess gambit arising from the Indian Game characterized by the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.g4.


Mieses-Kotrč Variation

Scandinavian Defense
Scandinavian Defence

(chess) A chess opening variation arising from the Scandinavian Defense characterized by the moves 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5.


hippogonal

Being a move in a board game similar to a knight's move in chess, i.e. leaping m squares in one of the orthogonal directions and n squares in the other.


Zilbermints-Benoni Gambit

(chess) A very uncommon and unpracticed chess opening gambit characterized by the moves 1.d4 c5 2.b4.


Staunton Gambit

en-noun

Staunton Gambit (plural Staunton Gambits)

(chess) A chess opening gambit characterized by the moves 1.d4 f5 2.e4.


Shaviliuk Gambit

Queen's Pawn Opening
Queen's Pawn Opening#Noun

Chigorin Variation
Chigorin Variation#Noun

(chess) An uncommon chess opening gambit arising from the Queen's Pawn Opening: Chigorin Variation characterized by the moves 1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 e5.


opening book

Chess opening book
Chess opening book (computers)

(chess, literally) A book describing chess openings or giving general opening advice.

(chess engines) A database of openings given to a chess engine to play, either to improve the strength of the engine, to make the engine more interesting to play against, or to create a diversity of games in a chess engine tournament.


book move

The researchers only considered the phase between move 10 and move 100 to rule out most of the "book moves" and didn't consider games that lasted fewer than 20 moves.

2020 October 21, Peter Doggers, “Top Chess Players Peak Between 35 and 45, Research Shows”, in Chess.com, archived from the original on 09 Dec 2022:

Book move — A standard or conventional move. Not to be confused with a "text move."

[2022 June 13, Isaac Aronow, “Chess Terms and Vocabulary”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 17 Jan 2023:

(chess) An opening move considered to be the best play; a move in a main line.


in book

The Sicilian opening was wild, but the speed of play made it clear both players were "in book", up to a point.

2022 January 21, Colin McGourty, “Tata Steel 5: Rapport & Mamedyarov hit the front”, in chess24, archived from the original on 19 May 2022:

Wesley So had prepared a line with a temporary pawn sacrifice against Praggnanandhaa and both players appeared to be in book for a long time.

2023 January 19, Mark Crowther, “Giri overtakes Abdusattorov in a dramatic final round of the Tata Steel Masters to grab his first title”, in The Week in Chess, archived from the original on 01 Feb 2023:

(chess, uncommon) Of a chess player: following a main line ("a standard sequence of opening moves considered to be best play").


outbook

en-verb

outbook (third-person singular simple present outbooks, present participle outbooking, simple past and past participle outbooked)

outbooks (present singular third-person)
outbooking (participle present)
outbooked (participle past)
outbooked (past)

Then on move 13, Deep Thought II surprisingly found itself outbooked and in a difficult position.

2013, Monty Newborn, Deep Blue: An Artificial Intelligence Milestone, page 76:

(transitive, chess) To surpass in one's knowledge of book moves.


weakie

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And now we enter the real chess arena, where, haughty about ratings, everybody has only one thought in mind: to win — to pile up plaudits against the county grader's autumnal assessment. And to this end we all hope for a weaker opponent, but in the tournaments there are no outright weakies.

2010, John Healy, Coffeehouse Chess Tactics: An Astonishing Trip Into the World of Competitive Chess, Alkmaar, Netherlands: New In Chess, page 17:

(especially chess and poker, rare) An unskilled player.


Life Master

(chess) A player holding a master's rating of over 2200 for at least 300 tournament games rated by the United States Chess Federation.


blindfold chess

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A form of chess in which players do not see or touch the pieces, and rely only on their memory and mental image.


mad queen chess

(chess, dated) The modern variety of chess, in which the queen can travel any number of squares in one move, as opposed to earlier varieties in which the queen was less powerful.


absolute skewer

en-noun

absolute skewer (plural absolute skewers)

In an absolute skewer, the king is involved, whereas a relative skewer does not involve the king.

2018, George Huczek, A to Z Chess Tactics: Every Chess Move Explained, Batsford, →ISBN:

(chess) A skewer in which the king is placed in check, forcing it to be moved.


relative skewer

relative skewer (plural relative skewers)

(chess) A skewer that is not an absolute skewer; a skewer that is not a skewer of the king.


French bishop

So Gary decides to open the French. Hmmm. Now that "bad French bishop" comes into the game.

1995 February 10, BradleeJ, rec.games.chess (Usenet):

As long as Black has the bad French bishop, White will be better in almost all endings.

2012, Karsten Mueller, Alex Markgraf, The Chess Puzzle Book 4, Russell Enterprises, →ISBN, page 48:

First, there will be simple game fragments, where the bishop is not completely blocked – it can move, but White blithely "ignores" the French bishop.

2018, Sergey Kasparov, chapter 8, in The Bishop: Danger on the Diagonal, Russell Enterprises, →ISBN:

light-squared bishop
light-squared bishop

(chess) The black light-squared bishop in main line of the French Defence, whose movement is restricted due to the pawns on e6 and d5.


light-squared bishop

light-squared bishop (plural light-squared bishops)

light-squared bishops (plural)
light-square bishop (alternative)

(chess) A bishop that is on a light square, and so which can only move to light squares.


King's Indian Defence

(chess) A chess opening characterized by the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6.


Queen's Indian Defence

(chess) A chess opening characterized by the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6.


chesser

Where are those principles of fair play that allow both sides a hearing? that give a move to each player in turn? and what neglect of a chesser's analytical powers to make up your mind and decision from the analysis of the moves only of the Attack, not regarding what the Defense can move in reply?

1877, The Chess Journal, numbers 74-94, page 232:

[…] a chesser of old, / Won a game in a shower of gold. / His move had the crowd floored, / And coins showered the board. / (They were paying off bets, I am told.)

1979, Chess Life & Review, volume 34, page 4:

Earlier this summer I played Nigel Short, the world number three, at what chessers call a charity ‘simul’, or simultaneous display.

1989 July, Martin Amis, “Chess is Their Life”, in The Times Literary Supplement:


rookwise

Moving exclusively in cardinal directions, as a rook moves in chess


bishopwise

Moving exclusively in diagonals, as a bishop moves in chess


Barnes Opening

After English chess master Thomas Wilson Barnes.


contempt factor

contempt factor (plural contempt factors)

(chess, uncountable) The score assigned to a draw during calculation, usually negative to discourage playing for a draw and encourage playing for a win.


time trouble

(chess) In a game played with a time control, the situation in which a player has little time to complete the required moves, thus increasing the probability of making a blunder.


deferred time

deferred time (countable and uncountable, plural deferred times)

(chess) The time when a tournament is paused due to time constraints, when a player's next move has been written down held until the tournament resumes, during which the player can examine possible play outcomes.


orthochess

/ˌɔːθəˈt͡ʃɛs/

/ˌɔːθəʊ̯ˈt͡ʃɛs/

/ˌɔɹθəˈt͡ʃɛs/

/ˌɔɹθoʊ̯ˈt͡ʃɛs/

From ortho- + chess, probably as a clipping of orthodox chess.

Problems of this sort have been exhaustively dealt with for orthochess (see A Guide to Fairy Chess, p. 39, for tables of results); Haas here presents 59 positions showing his best results for all possible moves, type A.

1974, Phillip Cohen, “Chessworld: Magazine Review”, in The Gamesletter, volume 13, number 1/2, Don Miller, page 10:

Avalanche chess is the same as orthochess, except that every move consists of two parts: (1) a normal legal chess move; and (2) pushing an opponent's pawn one square straight toward you. That's all there is to it really.

1992 June 8, Les Roselle, “What is a Nost?”, in Chess Life, volume 47, number 6, US Chess Federation, →ISBN:

In consequence, Italian domination of Progressive Chess was for many years comparable to that of Soviet domination of orthochess in times past.

2007, D. B. Pritchard, “Games using an ordinary board and men”, in The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants, second edition, John Beasley, →ISBN, page 30:

(chess variants) The conventional game and rules of chess.


fairy problem

(chess) An unusual chess problem, either one not involving direct mates or involving irregular rules or pieces.


directmate

(chess) A kind of chess problem in which White, moving first, must checkmate Black within a specified number of moves against any defence.


moremover

(chess) A kind of directmate chess problem in which the solver must attain checkmate within a specified number of moves, that number being greater than three.


seriesmover

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(chess) A chess puzzle in which one side makes a series of moves without reply to achieve a stipulated aim, and check may not be given except on the final move.


serieshelpmate

(chess) A type of helpmate chess puzzle in which Black plays a series of moves without reply after which White plays one move to checkmate Black.


seriesmate

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(chess) A type of seriesmover chess puzzle that is a directmate with White playing a series of moves without reply to checkmate Black.


Russian chess

"Who's for a game at Russian chess?" inquired Glover, as they returned to the schoolroom. "The new board has been sent home and the two sets of chessmen made up. George, Walter, Gilbert, will all or any of you play?"

1870, G. Routledge and Sons (publisher), Edmund Routledge (contributor), Routledge's Magazine for Boys, page 181:

During the last three weeks we have introduced the amusement of playing a game at chess with four sets of men (called Russian chess) on our dining-table, which we turn into a board for the purpose by making square upon it.

1876, Margaret Maria Gordon, Hay Macdowall Grant Of Arndilly; His Life, Labours, and Teaching, page 122:

(chess, obsolete) A type of chess requiring four players and four sets of pieces.


Hippopotamus Defence

Hippopotamus Defence (plural Hippopotamus Defences)

Hippopotamus Defences (plural)
hippo (alternative)

(chess) A defensive opening in which a player places pawns on b6, d6, e6, and g6, brings out the knights and fianchettoes the bishops (on b7 and g7).


Latvian Gambit

Named after chess players Gioachino Greco and Kārlis Bētiņš, both of whom are from Latvia.

(chess) An Open Game characterized by the moves 1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5.


correspondence chess

(chess) A form of chess where players use a remote method of communication such as the mail or the Internet to send each other their moves.


Portuguese Opening

Named in reference to chess player Pedro Damiano, who is from Portugal.

(chess) An Open Game characterised by the moves 1.e4 e5 2. Bb5.


bare king

(chess) A situation in which a king is the only piece remaining for its player.


pawn grabbing

/ˈpɔːnˌɡɹæbɪŋ/

... Pawn grabbing is the phrase used to describe the mistake of taking too much time away from your development in order to win a pawn. Chess players speak of a “poisoned” pawn, indicating that the time spent in capturing it is not worth[…]

2010 July 8, James Eade, Chess Openings For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 334:

The pawn isn't worth the tempos that you spend moving your piece(s) away from the action. Violations. however has no place in the King's Gambit and combined with some questionable pawn grabbing leads to a quick[…]

2012, Joel Johnson, Formation Attack Strategies, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 123:

(informal, chess) playstyle where a player prioritizes capturing opponents' pawns rather than focusing on overall strategy or victory conditions. Often seen as a beginner's mistake or an overly aggressive, short-sighted approach


accelerated dragon

accelerated dragon (plural accelerated dragons)

(chess) A variation of the Sicilian Defence opening in which black plays g6 on the fourth move, allowing the bishop to be fianchettoed to Bg7.


Kings Draw

(chess, informal) A game state where both players have only their kings remaining, resulting in a draw due to insufficient mating material.


e.p.

1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 exd4 4. e5 Ne4 5. Qxd4 d5 6. exd6 e.p. Nxd6 7. Bg5 Nc6 8. Qe3+ Be7 9. Nbd2 0-0 10. 0-0-0 Re8 11. Kb1 (=)

2022, “2023 Laws of Chess”, in FIDE, page 23: