book

books (plural)
boke (alternative obsolete)
booke (alternative archaic)

Sranan Tongo: buku

desctree

Tok Pisin: buk
→ Rotokas: vuku
→ Takia: buk

→ Chichewa: buku

→ Hawaiian: puke

→ Lingala: búku

→ Malagasy: boky

→ Maori: pukapuka (with reduplication)

→ Marshallese: bok

→ Motu: buka

→ Shona: bhuku

→ Somali: buugga

i

possibly also from Afrikaans <i class="Latn mention" lang="af">boek</i>

→ Sotho: buka (possibly also from Afrikaans boek)

→ Zulu: ibhuku (possibly also from Afrikaans boek)

From Middle English bok, book, from Old English bōc, from Proto-West Germanic *bōk, from Proto-Germanic *bōks. Eclipsed non-native Middle English livret, lyveret (“book, booklet”) from Old French livret (“book, booklet”). Bookmaker sense by clipping.

some speakers from Northern England and Ireland

buck (without the foot-strut split, when pronounced /bʊk/)

have more chins than a Chinese phone book

why buy a book when you can join a library

why buy a book when you can join the library

The opposite-colored bishops endgame is usually a book draw.

A book move

out of book

White to move and win. How can he do it? The BK plans a march to h8, eating the f4 pawn en route, for a book draw.

2018 April 6, Leonard Barden, “Chess: Schoolboy Vincent Keymer secures shock triumph at Grenke Open”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 2023-01-12:

This seems certain to simplify into a battle between White's king, rook and two pawns against Black's king and rook. In some cases a book draw is possible. But a book win is more likely.

2020, Andrew Soltis, How to Swindle in Chess, Batsford Books, →ISBN:

(chess, uncountable) The sum of chess knowledge in the opening or endgame.


elephant

en-noun

elephant (countable and uncountable, plural elephants)

→ Hawaiian: ʻelepani

→ Maori: arewhana

→ Tokelauan: elefane

→ Tongan: ʻelefanite

→ Welsh: eliffant

From Middle English elefant, elefaunt, from Old French elefant, elefan, olifant, re-latinized in Middle French as elephant, from Latin elephantus, from Ancient Greek ἐλέφᾱς (eléphās) (gen. ἐλέφαντος (eléphantos)). Believed to be derived from an Afroasiatic form such as Proto-Berber *eḷu (“elephant”) (compare Tamahaq êlu, Tamasheq alu) or Egyptian ꜣbw (“elephant; ivory”). More at ivory. Replaced Middle English olifant (from the aforementioned Old French form, from Vulgar Latin *olifantus), which replaced Old English elpend (“elephant”).

elephant trunk

Pachypodium namaquanum or Agave attenuata

elephant tortoise

Testudo gigantea or Testudo elaphantopus

elephant yam

Amorphophallus konjac or Amorphophallus paeoniifolius

Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant

(xiangqi) A xiangqi piece that is moved two points diagonally, may not jump over intervening pieces and may not cross the river.


wall

From Middle English wal, from Old English weall (“wall, dike, earthwork, rampart, dam, rocky shore, cliff”), from Proto-West Germanic *wall (“wall, rampart, entrenchment”), from Latin vallum (“wall, rampart, entrenchment, palisade”), from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn, wind, roll”).
Perhaps conflated with waw (“a wall within a house or dwelling, a room partition”), from Middle English wawe, from Old English wāg, wāh (“an interior wall, divider”), see waw.
Cognate with North Frisian wal (“wall”), Saterland Frisian Waal (“wall, rampart, mound”), Dutch wal (“wall, rampart, embankment”), German Wall (“rampart, mound, embankment”), Swedish vall (“mound, wall, bank”). More at wallow, walk.

cog

the apples on the other side of the wall are the sweetest

throw enough mud at the wall and some of it will stick

throw things at the wall and see what sticks

(mahjong) Face-down tiles arranged in stacked rows from which players draw new tiles.


general

en-noun

general (countable and uncountable, plural generals)

generals (plural)
General (alternative)
gen. (alternative)
gen (alternative)
Gen. (alternative)
Gen (alternative)
genl (alternative)
gen'l (alternative)
Genl (alternative)
Gen'l (alternative)
generall (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English general, in turn from Anglo-Norman general, generall, Middle French general, and their source, Latin generālis, from genus (“class, kind”) + -ālis (“-al”); thus morphologically parallel with, and a doublet of, generic.

(xiangqi) A xiangqi piece that is moved one point orthogonally and confined within the palace.


Indian

en-adj

Indian (comparative more Indian, superlative most Indian)

more Indian (comparative)
most Indian (superlative)

From Anglo-Norman indien, Middle French indien, corresponding to Ind + -ian or India + -an. Applied to inhabitants of the Americas due to an early misconception that the Americas were the eastern end of Asia / the Indies (hence also the designation of Caribbean islands as the West Indies).

(chess) Designating any of various chess openings now characterised by black's attempt to control the board through knights and fianchettoed bishops rather than with a central pawn advance.


black

black (comparative blacker or more black, superlative blackest or most black)

blacker (comparative)
more black (comparative)
blackest (superlative)
most black (superlative)
blacke (alternative obsolete)
Black (alternative)
blk (alternative)
blak (alternative)

Bislama: blak

Sranan Tongo: blaka

Aukan: baaka

→ Caribbean Hindustani: blaaka

Tok Pisin: blak

Torres Strait Creole: blaik

→ Dutch: black

→ French: black

→ Greek: μπλάκης (blákis)

From Middle English blak, black, blake, from Old English blæc (“black, dark", also "ink”), from Proto-West Germanic *blak, from Proto-Germanic *blakaz (“burnt”) (compare Dutch blaken (“to burn”), Low German blak, black (“blackness, black paint, (black) ink”), Old High German blah (“black”)), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleg- (“to burn, shine”) (compare Latin flagrāre (“to burn”), Ancient Greek φλόξ (phlóx, “flame”), Sanskrit भर्ग (bharga, “radiance”)).
Sense 20 is a semantic loan from Cantonese 黑面 (hak1 min6, “to pull a long face, to scowl”).

sort

of coffee or tea, without milk or other whitener

The black pieces in this chess set are made of dark blue glass.

(board games, chess) Of or relating to the playing pieces of a board game deemed to belong to the "black" set (in chess, the set used by the player who moves second) (often regardless of the pieces' actual colour).

sort

chess, checkers etc.: color opposing "white"


black

en-noun

black (countable and uncountable, plural blacks)

blacks (plural)
blacke (alternative obsolete)
Black (alternative)
blk (alternative)
blak (alternative)

→ Japanese: ブラック (burakku)

→ Volapük: bläg

At this point black makes a disastrous move.

1...Qd3 2 Ne1 Nd2! wins since 3 Nxd3 Rxf1 mate while 3 Qxc7+ Kg6 only delays the end. The best White can do is 3 Qc3+ Qxc3 4 Rxc3 Rxe1 when Black also wins the Bf1 and will be two pieces up.

2023 January 13, Leonard Barden, “Chess: Carlsen takes on young guns at Wijk as world champion eyes record”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 2023-01-23:

(countable, chess) The person playing with the black set of pieces.

sort

chess and similar games: person playing with the black set of pieces


white

en-adj

white (comparative whiter or more white, superlative whitest or most white)

whiter (comparative)
more white (comparative)
whitest (superlative)
most white (superlative)
whight (alternative obsolete)
whyte (alternative obsolete)
whyght (alternative obsolete)
White (alternative)

Bislama: waet

Sranan Tongo: weti

Aukan: weti

Saramaccan: wéti

Tok Pisin: wait

→ Japanese: ホワイト (howaito)

white fella

⇒ Nyunga: wadjela

white gin

⇒ Gamilaraay: waatyin

⇒ Ngiyambaa: wadjiin

⇒ Wiradjuri: waajin

Inherited from Middle English whit, hwit, from Old English hwīt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīt, from Proto-Germanic *hwītaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweydós, a byform of *ḱweytós (“bright; shine”).
Cognates
* West Frisian wyt
*Dutch wit
* German weiß
* German weiss
* Norwegian Bokmål hvit
* Norwegian Nynorsk kvit
* Lithuanian šviẽsti (“to gleam”), šviesa (“light”)
* Old Church Slavonic свѣтъ (světŭ, “light”), свѣтьлъ (světĭlŭ, “clear, bright”)
* Persian سفید (sefid, “white”), Persian سپید (sepid, “white”)
* Avestan 𐬯𐬞𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀 (spaēta, “white”)
* Sanskrit श्वेत (śvetá, “white, bright”).

cog

The white pieces in this set are in fact made of light green glass.

(board games, chess) The standard denomination of the playing pieces of a board game deemed to belong to the white set, no matter what the actual colour.

hvid

board games: deemed to belong to the white set


white

en-noun

white (countable and uncountable, plural whites)

whites (plural)
whight (alternative obsolete)
whyte (alternative obsolete)
whyght (alternative obsolete)
White (alternative)

bělásek

common name for butterflies in the subfamily Pierinae

In this position, white has an opportunity to make a good move.

(board games, chess) The person playing with the white set of pieces.

valkoinen

board games: person playing with the white pieces


tempo

Borrowed from Italian tempo, from Latin tempus (“time”). Doublet of tense.
(truck or cargo van): A genericized trademark, originally associated with the manufacturer Vidal & Sohn Tempo-Werke GmbH.

(chess) A move which is part of one's own plan or strategy and forces, e.g. by means of a check or attacking a piece, the opponent to make a move which is not bad but of no use (the player gains a tempo, the opponent loses a tempo), or equivalently a player achieves the same result in fewer moves by one approach rather than another.


king

kings (plural)
kyng (alternative archaic)
kynge (alternative archaic)
kinge (alternative obsolete)

Tok Pisin: king

desc

⇒ American Sign Language: K@Shoulder K@Abdomen

→ Burmese: ကင် (kang)

→ Isubu: kinge

→ Japanese: キング (kingu)

→ Korean: 킹 (king)

→ Maori: kīngi

→ Marshallese: kiin̄

→ Thai: คิง (king)

From Middle English king, kyng, from Old English cyng, cyning (“king”), from Proto-West Germanic *kuning, from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz, *kunungaz (“king”), equivalent to kin + -ing. Doublet of cyning and knez.
Cognate with Scots keeng (“king”), North Frisian köning (“king”), West Frisian kening (“king”), Dutch koning (“king”), Low German Koning, Köning (“king”), German König (“king”), Danish konge (“king”), Norwegian konge, Swedish konung, kung (“king”), Icelandic konungur, kóngur (“king”), Polish ksiądz (“priest”), Russian князь (knjazʹ, “prince”), Old Church Slavonic кънѧѕь (kŭnędzĭ), Romanian chinez, Finnish kuningas (“king”), Estonian kuningas, Ingrian kunigas, Karelian kuninkas, Livvi kuńingas, Ludian kuńingas, Veps kuningaz, Võro kuning and Votic kunikaz. Eclipsed non-native Middle English roy (“king”) (Early Modern English roy), borrowed from Old French roi, rei, rai (“king”).
The verb is inherited from Middle English kyngen, *kingen (“To perform the duties of a king”), itself from the noun king, kyng.

Audio — the king

акрал

a male of a royal family who is the supreme ruler of his nation

in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king

(chess) The principal chess piece, that players seek to threaten with unavoidable capture to result in a victory by checkmate. It is often the tallest piece, with a symbolic crown with a cross at the top.


queen

queens (plural)
queene (alternative obsolete)
quene (alternative obsolete)
queyne (alternative obsolete)

Tok Pisin: kwin

⇒ American Sign Language: G@Shoulder-PalmDown G@Abdomen-PalmDown

→ Burmese: ကွင်း (kwang:)

→ German: Queen

→ Japanese: クイーン (kuīn), クィーン (kwīn)

→ Korean: 퀸 (kwin)

→ Marshallese: kwiin

→ Maori: kuīni

→ Sikaiana: kuini

→ Spanish: cuina

→ Thai: ควีน (kwiin)

From Middle English quene, queen, cwen, from Old English cwēn (“queen”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwāni, from Proto-Germanic *kwēniz (“woman”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷénh₂s (“woman”).
Cognate with Scots queen, wheen (“queen”), Old Saxon quān ("wife"; > Middle Low German quene (“elderly woman”)), Dutch kween (“woman past child-bearing age”), Swedish kvinna (“woman”), Norwegian kvinne (“woman”), Danish kvinde (“woman”), Icelandic kvon (“wife”), Gothic 𐌵𐌴𐌽𐍃 (qēns, “wife”), Norwegian dialectal kvån (“wife”). Related to and possibly merged with and/or absorbed some senses of English quean, from Middle English quene, from Old English cwene (“woman; female serf, quean”), see quean. Generally eclipsed non-native Middle English regina (“queen”), borrowed from Latin rēgīna (“queen”) (see Modern English Regina). Doublet of quean and gyne.

gloss

"wife"; > Middle Low German <i class="Latn mention" lang="gml">quene</i> (“elderly woman”)

cog

αδερφή f (aderfí, literally “Sister, From the same uterus”)

Holonym: chess set

For this cauſe that when he [the pawn] can procede so well in warre, as to arriue at the laſte rancke of hys enemies, he is choſen and made the beſt piece of the playe, to wit, he is the Quene.

1562, Damiano da Odemira, translated by Iames Rowbothum, The Pleasaunt and Wittie Playe of the Cheasts Renewed, with Instructions Both to Learne It Easely, and to Play It Well, London, page A7v:

And, further, let us ſuppoſe, that your King is at Liberty to attack his Pawns upon one Side of the Board, by reckoning how many moves it will take your King to march and take thoſe two Pawns, and alſo, by adding the Number of Moves, which will be neceſſary for you to make a Queen with one of your Pawns: You will, by this Method, find out the exact number of Moves, before you can make a Queen.

1761, Edmond Hoyle, An Essay Towards Making the Game of Chess Easily Learned, London, retrieved 2022-01-13, page 51:

Referring to one of several items used in tabletop games:

(chess) A chess piece that, under contemporary rules, is the most powerful, able to move any number of spaces horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.


queen

en-verb

queen (third-person singular simple present queens, present participle queening, simple past and past participle queened)

queens (present singular third-person)
queening (participle present)
queened (participle past)
queened (past)
queene (alternative obsolete)
quene (alternative obsolete)
queyne (alternative obsolete)

Neither King will be able to stop the opponent's pawns from queening, when the game should be a draw. In such cases, which side queens first, or queens with check, can make a crucial difference. In this case, White promotes his pawn first and is able to put this advantage to good use.

2003, Yasser Seirawan, Winning Chess Endings, London: Everyman Chess, →ISBN, page 39:


knight

From Middle English knight, knyght, kniht, from Old English cniht (“boy; servant, knight”), from Proto-West Germanic *kneht.

inh

(chess) A chess piece, often in the shape of a horse's head, that is moved two squares in one direction and one at right angles to that direction in a single move, leaping over any intervening pieces.

ло́шадь f (lóšadʹ) (proscribed for this sense)


knight

en-verb

knight (third-person singular simple present knights, present participle knighting, simple past and past participle knighted)

knights (present singular third-person)
knighting (participle present)
knighted (participle past)
knighted (past)

From Middle English knighten, kniȝten, from the noun. Cognate with Middle High German knehten.

(chess, transitive) To promote (a pawn) to a knight.


boom

boom (third-person singular simple present booms, present participle booming, simple past and past participle boomed)

booms (present singular third-person)
booming (participle present)
boomed (participle past)
boomed (past)

Onomatopoeic, perhaps borrowed; compare German bummen, Dutch bommen (“to hum, buzz”). The sense "a period of economic growth" is generally taken to derive from the sense "a rapid expansion", although other origins have also been suggested.

It can get fast enough that it's hard to see what flashed on your screen though, so it would be nice if chess engines had a feature of persistently showing you what move they planned to play before they boomed, even if it took less than a second for them to figure it out.

2021 January 23, Bram Cohen, “You're doing computer chess game commentary wrong”, in Medium, archived from the original on 2022-12-06:

In its White game Stockfish had various moments of booming during these long thinks, but these long thinks always ended disappointingly in a slightly lower evaluation than it started with.

2022 April 22, Matthew Sadler, “TCEC Season 22 SuperFinal: Komodo Dragon vs Stockfish”, in TCEC, archived from the original on 2022-12-13:

(computer chess, slang) To rapidly adjust the evaluation of a position away from zero, indicating a likely win or loss.


boom

→ German: Boom

Indonesian: bum

→ Japanese: ブーム (būmu)

→ Polish: boom

→ Russian: бум (bum)

Some chess commentators know to excitedly point out when booms happen but they almost universally are missing out on the next step of explaining what the boom meant.

The evaluation boom and moob continued as Stockfish headed for a queen-rook-knight vs queen-rook-knight position that looked pretty nasty to me!

(computer chess, slang) An instance of booming.


hole

→ Japanese: ホール (hōru)

→ Korean: 홀 (hol)

Sranan Tongo: olo

Inherited from Middle English hole, hol, from Old English hol (“orifice, hollow place, cavity”), from Proto-West Germanic *hol, from Proto-Germanic *hulą (“hollow space, cavity”), noun derivative of Proto-Germanic *hulaz (“hollow”), which is of uncertain ultimate origin. Related to hollow.

отво́р

orifice (see anus etc. for specific body cavities)

know one's ass from a hole in the ground

know one's head from a hole in the ground

know the difference between one's ass and a hole in the ground

(chess) A square on the board, with some positional significance, that a player does not, and cannot in the future, control with a friendly pawn.


wood

en-noun

wood (countable and uncountable, plural woods)

Sranan Tongo: udu

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle English wode, from Old English wudu, widu (“wood, forest, grove; tree; timber”), from Proto-West Germanic *widu, from Proto-Germanic *widuz (“wood”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- (“to separate”).
Cognate with Dutch wede (“wood, twig”), Middle High German wite (“wood”), Danish ved (“wood”), Swedish ved (“firewood”), Icelandic viður (“wood”). Further cognates include Irish fiodh (“a wood, tree”), Irish fid (“tree”) and Welsh gwŷdd (“trees”), from Proto-Celtic *widus (“wood”). Unrelated to Dutch woud (“forest”), German Wald (“forest”) (see English wold).

der

[…] White has nothing but a lot of frozen wood on the board while Black operates on the Q-side.

1971, Chess Life & Review, volume 26, page 309:

(chess, uncountable, slang) Chess pieces.


retreat

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-retreat.wav

From Middle English retret, from Old French retrait or retret, from Latin retractus, from retraho. Doublet of retract, retrait, and ritratto.

doublet

(chess) The move of a piece from a threatened position.


CM

en-noun

CM (countable and uncountable, plural CMs)

Sense "commercial" is a borrowing from Japanese CM (CM, “commercial video ad”), from English commercial + message.


piece

pieces (plural)
peece (alternative obsolete)

Belizean Creole: pees

Sranan Tongo: pisi

→ Finnish: biisi

→ Irish: píosa

→ Japanese: ピース (pīsu)

→ Scottish Gaelic: pìos

From Middle English pece, peece, peice, from Old French piece, from Late Latin petia, pettia, possibly from Gaulish *pettyā, from Proto-Celtic *kʷezdis (“piece, portion, quota”); doublet of English fit, fytte, fytt (“musical piece, chapter”), Icelandic fit (“web”), German Fitze (“skein”), from Old High German *fitjâ. Compare Welsh peth, Breton pez (“thing”), Irish cuid. Compare French pièce, Portuguese peça, Spanish pieza, Italian pezza, Italian pezzo.

der

Pawns, unlike pieces, move only in one direction: forward.

1959, Hans Kmoch, Pawn Power in Chess, section I:

(chess) One of the figures used in playing chess, specifically a higher-value figure as distinguished from a pawn; (by extension) those with which draughts, backgammon, and other similar board games are played.

قِطْعَة

chess: figure other than pawn; similar counter in other games


pin

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: pins

→ Polish: pin

→ Spanish: pin

→ Swahili: pini

→ Swedish: pin, pins

From Middle English pinne, from Old English pinn (“pin, peg, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *pinnaz, *pinnō, *pint- (“protruding point, peak, peg, pin, nail”), from Proto-Indo-European *bend- (“protruding object, pointed peg, nail, edge”). Related to pen (“enclosure”).
Cognate with Dutch pin (“peg, pin”), Low German pin, pinne (“pin, point, nail, peg”), German Pinn, Pinne (“pin, tack, peg”), Bavarian Pfonzer, Pfunzer (“sharpened point”), Danish pind (“pin, pointed stick”), Norwegian pinn (“stick”), Swedish pinne (“peg, rod, stick”), Icelandic pinni (“pin”). More at pintle.
No relation to classical Latin pinna (“fin, flipper, wing-like appendage, wing, feather”), which was extended to mean "ridge, peak, point" (compare pinnacle), and often confused with Latin penna (“wing, feather”). More at feather and pen (Etymology 3).

cog

(chess) Either a scenario in which moving a lesser piece to escape from attack would expose a more valuable piece to being taken instead, or one where moving a piece is impossible as it would place the king in check.


pin

en-verb

pin (third-person singular simple present pins, present participle pinning, simple past and past participle pinned)

pins (present singular third-person)
pinning (participle present)
pinned (participle past)
pinned (past)

(chess, usually passive voice) To cause (a piece) to be in a pin.


bind

en-noun

bind (countable and uncountable, plural binds)

From Middle English binden, from Old English bindan, from Proto-West Germanic *bindan, from Proto-Germanic *bindaną (compare West Frisian bine, Dutch binden, Low German binnen, binden, German binden, Danish binde), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰéndʰ-e-ti, from *bʰendʰ- (“to tie”).
Compare Welsh ben (“cart”), Latin offendīx (“knot, band”), Lithuanian beñdras (“partner”), Albanian bind (“to convince, to awe, to spell”), Ancient Greek πεῖσμα (peîsma, “cable, rope”), Persian بستن (bastan, “to bind”), Sanskrit बन्धति (bándhati). Doublet of bandana.

cog

the Maróczy Bind

(chess, countable) A strong grip or stranglehold on a position, which is difficult for the opponent to break.


bust

en-verb

bust (third-person singular simple present busts, present participle busting, simple past and past participle busted or bust)

busts (present singular third-person)
busting (participle present)
busted (participle past)
busted (past)
bust (participle past)
bust (past)

From Middle English busten, a variant of Middle English bursten, bresten (“to burst”). Compare German Low German basten and barsten (“to burst”). More at burst.

So is the King's Gambit really busted?

2012 April 2, Frederic Friedel, “Rajlich: Busting the King's Gambit, this time for sure”, in ChessBase:

(chess, slang) To refute an established opening.


bust

(chess, slang) A refutation of an opening, or of a previously published analysis.


hang

hang (third-person singular simple present hangs, present participle hanging, simple past and past participle hung or (law) hanged)

hangs (present singular third-person)
hanging (participle present)
hung (participle past)
hung (past)
hanged (participle past)
hanged (past)

From Middle English hangen, hongen, from a fusion of Old English hōn (“to hang, be hanging”, transitive verb) and hangian (“to hang, cause to hang”, intransitive verb), from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄han and *hangēn; also probably influenced by Old Norse hengja (“to suspend”) and hanga (“to be suspended”); all from Proto-Germanic *hanhaną, *hangāną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱenk- (“to waver, be in suspense”).
See also Dutch hangen, Low German hangen and hängen, German hängen, Norwegian Bokmål henge, Norwegian Nynorsk henga; also Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (hāhan), Hittite 𒂵𒀀𒀭𒂵 (/kānk-/, “to hang”), Sanskrit शङ्कते (śáṅkate, “is in doubt, hesitates”), Latin cūnctārī (“to delay”).

cog

give someone enough rope and they'll hang themself

one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb

If you move there, you'll hang your rook.

(transitive, chess) To cause (a piece) to become vulnerable to capture.

vystavit

chess: to cause to become vulnerable to capture

In this standard opening position White has to be careful because the pawn on e4 hangs.

(intransitive, chess) To be vulnerable to capture.


increment

/ˈɪŋkɹɪmn̩t/

From Middle English encrement, increment, from Latin incrēmentum, from incrēscō (whence increase), from in- + crēscō (“grow”). Equivalent to increase + -ment.

(chess) The amount of time added to a player's clock after each move.


cook

Sranan Tongo: kukru (via cook room)

Aukan: kukuu

Tok Pisin: kuk

→ Norman: couque

→ Portuguese: cuca

→ Thai: กุ๊ก (gúk)

→ Tokelauan: kuka

From Middle English cook, from Old English cōc (“a cook”), from Latin cocus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- (“to cook, become ripe”).
Cognate with Low German kokk, Dutch kok, German Koch, Danish kok, Norwegian kokk, Swedish kock, Icelandic kokkur (“cook”). Also compare Proto-West Germanic *kokōn (“to cook”).

inh

Audio (UK) "to cook"

cuck (most accents without the foot-strut split)

The original endgame was one file to the right (Kf1, Kb5 etc.). But there is a cook after 1. c6 dxc6 2. d6 cxd6 3. h4 gxh3 e.p. 4. gxh3 Ka4! 5. h4 b5. My version eliminates the cook.

2003 June, Pal Benko, “Endgame Lab”, in Chess Life, volume 58, number 6, New Windsor, N.Y.: United States Chess Federation, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 49:

(chess) An unintended solution to a chess problem, considered to spoil the problem.


cover

en-verb

cover (third-person singular simple present covers, present participle covering, simple past and past participle covered)

covers (present singular third-person)
covering (participle present)
covered (participle past)
covered (past)

→ German: covern

→ Danish: lave en cover

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-?
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm
Proto-Italic *kom
Old Latin com
Latin cum
Latin con-
Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi
Proto-Indo-European *h₂wer-
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Latin operiō
Latin cooperiō
Old French covrirbor.
Middle English coveren
English cover
From Middle English coveren, borrowed from Old French covrir, cueuvrir (modern French couvrir), from Late Latin coperire, from Latin cooperiō (“I cover completely”), from co- (intensive prefix) + operiō (“I close, cover”). Displaced native Middle English thecchen and bethecchen (“to cover”) (from Old English þeccan, beþeccan (“to cover”)), Middle English helen, (over)helen, (for)helen (“to cover, conceal”) (from Old English helan (“to conceal, cover, hide”)), Middle English wrien, (be)wreon (“to cover”) (from Old English (be)wrēon (“to cover”)), Middle English hodren, hothren (“to cover up”) (from Low German hudren (“to cover up”)).
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the original sense of the verb and noun cover was “hide from view” as in its cognate covert. Except in the limited sense of “cover again”, the word recover is unrelated and is cognate with recuperate. Cognate with Spanish cubrir (“to cover”).

cog

In order to checkmate a king on the side of the board, the five squares adjacent to the king must all be covered.

(chess, transitive) To protect or control (a piece or square).


camel

→ Coeur d'Alene: keemel

→ Eastern Arrernte: kamule

→ Tsonga: kamela

From Middle English camel, through Old English camel and Old Northern French camel (Old French chamel, modern French chameau), from Latin camēlus, from Ancient Greek κάμηλος (kámēlos), from a Semitic source, ultimately from Proto-Semitic *gamal-; compare Arabic جَمَل (jamal), Hebrew גמל (gamál), Aramaic ܓܡܠܐ (gamlā), Coptic ϭⲁⲙⲟⲩⲗ (camoul). As a marine device, from Dutch. As an ethnic slur, short for camelfucker, camel jockey, etc.

a camel is a horse designed by a committee

it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God

(chess) A fairy chess piece that is moved three squares in one direction and one at right angles to that direction in a single move, leaping over any intervening pieces.


castle

→ Tongan: kāsolo

From Middle English castle, castel, from late Old English castel, castell (“a town, village”), borrowed from Late Latin castellum (“small camp, fort”), diminutive of Latin castrum (“camp, fort, citadel, stronghold”). Doublet of cashel, castell, castellum, and château.
Parallel borrowings (from Late Latin or Old French) are Scots castel, castell (“castle”), West Frisian kastiel (“castle”), Dutch kasteel (“castle”), German Kastell (“castle”), Danish kastel (“citadel”), Swedish kastell (“citadel”), Icelandic kastali (“castle”), Welsh castell.
The late Old English word was borrowed from biblical Latin castellum which has been translated as town or village. With the sense of castle, from Anglo-Norman/Old Northern French castel (“castle”), itself from Late Latin castellum (“small camp, fort”) (compare modern French château from Old French chastel). If Latin castrum (“camp, fort, citadel, stronghold”) is from Proto-Indo-European *kat- (“hut, shed”), Latin casa (“cottage, hut”) is related. Possibly related also to Gothic 𐌷𐌴𐌸𐌾𐍉 (hēþjō, “chamber”), Old English heaþor (“restraint, confinement, enclosure, prison”). See also casino, cassock.

cog

(chess, informal) A rook; a chess piece shaped like a castle tower.

(shogi) A defense structure in shogi formed by defensive pieces surrounding the king.


castle

en-verb

castle (third-person singular simple present castles, present participle castling, simple past and past participle castled)

castles (present singular third-person)
castling (participle present)
castled (participle past)
castled (past)

He [i.e., the king] may change (or Castle) with this Rooke, that is, he may goe two draughts at once towards this Rooke... causing the Rooke to stand next to him on either side.

1656, Gioachino Greco, translated by Francis Beale, The Royall Game of Chesse-Play, Being the Study of Biochimo, page 8:

No. 24. ¶ If your adversary make a false move, castle improperly, &c., you must take notice of such irregularity before you move, or even touch a piece, or you are no longer allowed to inflict any penalties.

1835, William Lewis, Chess for Beginners, Ch. 5, p. 24:

If a player having the move: […] touches his/her king and a rook he/she must castle on that side if it is legal to do so

2022, “2023 Laws of Chess”, in FIDE, page 9:

(usually intransitive, chess) To move the king 2 squares right or left and, in the same turn, the nearest rook to the far side of the king. The move now has special rules: the king cannot be in, go through, or end in check; the squares between the king and rook must be vacant; and neither piece may have been moved before castling.

(usually intransitive, shogi) To create a similar defensive position in Japanese chess through several moves.


pawn

From Middle English pown, from Anglo-Norman poun, paun (“footman”), from Late Latin pedōnem (“pedestrian”), derived from Latin ped- (“foot”). Doublet of peon.

(chess) The most numerous chess piece, or a similar piece in a similar game. In chess, each side starts with eight; moves are only forward, and attacks are only diagonally or en passant.


checkmate

From Middle English chekmat, from Old French eschec mat, from Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta), from Classical Persian شاه مات (šāh māt, “the king [is] amazed”).

der

Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta)

(chess) Word called out by the victor when making a move that wins the game.


checkmate

en-verb

checkmate (third-person singular simple present checkmates, present participle checkmating, simple past and past participle checkmated)

checkmates (present singular third-person)
checkmating (participle present)
checkmated (participle past)
checkmated (past)

der

Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta)

My opponent checkmated me in four moves!

The game is won by the player who has checkmated his/her opponent’s king.

2022, “2023 Laws of Chess”, in FIDE, page 10:

(transitive, chess) To put the king of an opponent into checkmate.


house

en-noun

house (countable and uncountable, plural houses or (dialectal) housen or (chiefly humorous) hice)

houses (plural)
housen (dialectal plural)
hice (humorous plural)
howse (alternative obsolete)

Chinese Pidgin English: houso

Nigerian Pidgin: haus

Tok Pisin: haus

Sranan Tongo: oso
→ Dutch: osso

→ Cantonese: house (hau¹ si²)

→ Japanese: ハウス (hausu)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH-der.?
Proto-Germanic *hūsą
Proto-West Germanic *hūs
Old English hūs
Middle English hous
English house
From Middle English hous, hus, from Old English hūs (“dwelling, shelter, house”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūs, from Proto-Germanic *hūsą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kews-, from *(s)kewH- (“to cover, hide”).
See also Scots hoose, West Frisian hûs, Dutch huis, German Haus, German Low German Huus, Danish hus, Faroese hús, Icelandic hús, Norwegian Bokmål hus, Norwegian Nynorsk hus and Swedish hus.
Eclipsed non-native Middle English meson, measoun (“house”), borrowed from Old French maison (“house”). More at hose. The uncommon plural form housen is from Middle English husen, housen. (The Old English nominative plural was simply hūs.)

huis

debating chamber for government politicians

a house divided against itself cannot stand

it takes a heap of living to make a house a home

it takes a heap o' livin' to make a house a home

it takes a lot of living to make a house a home

the call is coming from inside the house

use the master's tools to dismantle the master's house

(chess, now rare) A square on a chessboard, regarded as the proper place of a piece.


sharp

en-adj

sharp (comparative sharper, superlative sharpest)

sharper (comparative)
sharpest (superlative)

bland

antonym(s) of “having an intense and acrid flavour”

From Middle English scharp, from Old English sċearp, from Proto-West Germanic *skarp, from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerb-, from *(s)ker- (“to cut”).
Cognate with West Frisian skerp, Low German scherp, scharp, schaarp, Dutch scherp, German scharf, Danish skarp. Compare Irish cearb (“keen; cutting”), Latin acerbus (“tart, bitter”), Tocharian B kärpye (“rough”), Latvian skârbs (“sharp, rough”), Russian щерба (ščerba, “notch”), Polish szczerba (“gap, dent, jag, chip, nick, notch”), Albanian harb (“rudeness”). More at shear.

better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick

Time and time again, the amateur player has lost the opportunity to make the really best move because he felt bound to follow some chess "rule" he had learned, rather than to make the sharp move which was indicated by the position.

1963, Max Euwe, Chess Master Vs. Chess Amateur, page xviii:

In such situations most chess players choose the obvious and logical way: they go in for sharp play. However, not everyone is a natural attacking player[…]

1975, Luděk Pachman, Decisive Games in Chess History, page 64:


push

en-verb

push (third-person singular simple present pushes, present participle pushing, simple past and past participle pushed)

pushes (present singular third-person)
pushing (participle present)
pushed (participle past)
pushed (past)
push (infinitive)
push (first-person present singular)
pushed (first-person past singular)
push (present second-person singular)
pushest (archaic present second-person singular)
pushed (past second-person singular)
pushedst (archaic past second-person singular)
pushes (present singular third-person)
pusheth (archaic present singular third-person)
pushed (past singular third-person)
push (plural present)
pushed (past plural)
push (present subjunctive)
pushed (past subjunctive)
push (imperative present)
pushing (participle present)
pushed (participle past)

From Middle English pushen, poshen, posson, borrowed from Middle French pousser (Modern French pousser) from Old French poulser, from Latin pulsare (“to beat, strike”), frequentative of pellere (past participle pulsus). Doublet of pulsate and pulse (verb). Partly displaced native Old English sċūfan, whence Modern English shove.

(chess, transitive) To move (a pawn) directly forward.


castling

en-noun

castling (usually uncountable, plural castlings)

From Middle English castellinge, equivalent to castle (verb) + -ing.

Castling is prevented temporarily: […] If there is any piece between the king and the rook with which castling is to be effected.

2022, “2023 Laws of Chess”, in FIDE, pages 7, 8:

(chess) A move in which the king moves two squares towards a rook, and the rook moves to the other side of the king; the action of the verb to castle.

(shogi) The act of constructing a defense structure in Japanese chess in which the king (玉) is positioned in a certain way so that it is protected by pawns (歩) and silver general(s) (銀) and/or gold general(s) (金) often with an additional knight (桂) and lance (香車).


file

From French file, from filer (“to spin out, arrange one behind another”), from Latin fīlāre, from filum (“thread”).

(chess) One of the eight vertical lines of squares on a chessboard (i.e., those identified by a letter).


bullet

bullet (countable and uncountable, plural bullets)

From Middle English bullet (“an official tag or badge of registration or identification”), from Old French bullete, diminutive of boule (“ball”). Later influenced by Middle French boulette and French boulet.

inh

Nakamura is a different animal at 15-minute rapid and five-minute blitz and even more so at one-minute bullet, and in this match he adopted a psychological approach which paid off brilliantly.

2020 August 21, Leonard Barden, “Chess: Carlsen fights back from brink to overcome Nakamura in 38-game epic”, in The Guardian:

Carlsen also has been engaging in online marathons of "bullet chess," exactly the kind of attention-disrupting, energy-draining stunt contenders are supposed to avoid. In a bullet game, each player has only one minute for all the moves. The pace is so rapid the games are hard to watch, much less play.

2021 November 24, Tyler Cowen, “Chess Is an Esport Now. Get Used to It.”, in The Washington Post:

Even today, when they're home, the siblings indulge in a friendly game or two. "We love playing bullet games. It's a format where we make really quick moves," he says, pausing to add, "Think of it like a super over in cricket."

2022 July 27, Srinivasa Ramanujam, “'Feels like a festival': Praggnanandhaa on Chess Olympiad and meeting Rajinikanth”, in The Hindu:

(chess, uncountable) Ellipsis of bullet chess.


kick

en-verb

kick (third-person singular simple present kicks, present participle kicking, simple past and past participle kicked)

kicks (present singular third-person)
kicking (participle present)
kicked (participle past)
kicked (past)
kick (infinitive)
kick (first-person present singular)
kicked (first-person past singular)
kick (present second-person singular)
kickest (archaic present second-person singular)
kicked (past second-person singular)
kickedst (archaic past second-person singular)
kicks (present singular third-person)
kicketh (archaic present singular third-person)
kicked (past singular third-person)
kick (plural present)
kicked (past plural)
kick (present subjunctive)
kicked (past subjunctive)
kick (imperative present)
kicking (participle present)
kicked (participle past)

→ German: kicken

→ Welsh: cicio

From Middle English kyken (“to strike out with the foot”), from Old Norse kikna (“to sink at the knees”) and keikja (“to bend backwards”) (compare Old Norse keikr (“bent backwards, the belly jutting forward”)), from Proto-Germanic *kaikaz (“bent backwards”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Germanic *kī-, *kij- (“to split, dodge, swerve sidewards”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeyH- (“to sprout, shoot”). Compare also Dutch kijken (“to look”), Middle Low German kīken (“to look, watch”). See keek.

штовхну́ти

ного́ю; нога́ми

(chess, transitive) To attack (a piece) in order to force it to move.


FM

en-noun

FM (countable and uncountable, plural FMs)

FMs (plural)
F.M. (alternative)
F. M. (alternative)

(countable, chess) Initialism of FIDE Master.


dame

60th British Academy Film Awards
Judi Dench
Order of the British Empire

From Middle English dame, dam (“noble lady”), from Old French dame (“lady; term of address for a woman; the queen in card games and chess”), from Latin domina (“mistress of the house”), feminine form of dominus (“lord, master, ruler; owner of a residence”), or from Latin domus (“home, house”). Doublet of domina and donna.


bishop

bishops (plural)
byshop (alternative obsolete)

Tok Pisin: bisop

→ Hawaiian: pīhopa

→ Japanese: ビショップ

→ Kannada: ಬಿಷಪ್ (biṣap)

→ Korean: 비숍 (bisyop)

→ Maori: pīhopa

→ Thai: บิชอป (bì-chɔ́p)

From Middle English bischop, bishop, bisshop, biscop, from Old English bisċop (“bishop”), from Proto-West Germanic *biskop, from Vulgar Latin (e)biscopus, from classical Latin episcopus (“overseer, supervisor”), from Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos, “overseer”), from ἐπί (epí, “over”) + σκοπός (skopós, “watcher”), used in Greek and Latin both generally and as a title of civil officers. Cognate with all European terms for the position in various Christian churches; compare bisp.

аҷҟәандар

church official, supervisor of priests and congregations

titular bishop

as over a diocese without a congregation

The Bishoppes some name Alphins, some fooles, and some name them Princes; other some call them Archers.

1562, Rowbotham in Archaeologia, XXIV. 203

A Bishop or Archer, who is commonly figured with his head cloven.

1656, Gioachino Greco, “The royall game of chesse-play, being the study of Biochimo”, in Francis Beale, transl., (Please provide the book title or journal name):

(chess) The chess piece denoted ♗ or ♝ which moves along diagonal lines and developed from the shatranj alfil ("elephant") and was originally known as the aufil or archer in English.


rook

Inherited from Middle English rook, rooke, roke, rok, from Old French roc, ultimately from Persian رخ (rox), from Middle Persian lhw' (rox, “rook, castle (chess)”). Compare roc.

sometimes in Northern England; otherwise obsolete

ruck (most accents without the foot-strut split)

(chess) A piece shaped like a castle tower, that can be moved only up, down, left or right (but not diagonally) or in castling.


Scandinavian

Scandinavian Defence
Scandinavian Defence


hook

sometimes in Northern England and Ireland, otherwise obsolete

From Middle English hoke, from Old English hōc, from Proto-West Germanic *hōk, from Proto-Germanic *hōkaz, variant of *hakô (“hook”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kog-, *keg-, *keng- (“peg, hook, claw”).
Cognates
Compare West Frisian heak, Dutch haak (“hook”)) (compare West Frisian/Dutch hoek (“hook, angle, corner”), Low German Hook, Huuk); also related to hake.

Setup plays can also be made when you do not have the needed letter but believe your opponent doesn't know the hook owing to its obscurity.

2003, Andrew Fisher, David Webb, The Art of Scrabble, →ISBN, page 58:

(Scrabble) An instance of playing a word perpendicular to a word already on the board, adding a letter to the start or the end of the word to form a new word.


hook

en-verb

hook (third-person singular simple present hooks, present participle hooking, simple past and past participle hooked)

hooks (present singular third-person)
hooking (participle present)
hooked (participle past)
hooked (past)

koukata

hockey: to engage in the illegal maneuver of hooking

(Scrabble) To play a word perpendicular to another word by adding a single letter to the existing word.


fork

Sranan Tongo: forku

→ Dutch: fork

→ Japanese: フォーク (fōku)

→ Kannada: ಫೋರ್ಕ್ (phōrk)

→ Korean: 포크 (pokeu)

→ Maori: paoka

→ Tamil: போர்க் (pōrk)

→ Telugu: ఫోర్క్ (phōrk)

From Middle English forke (“digging fork”), from Old English force, forca (“forked instrument used to torture”), from Proto-West Germanic *furkō (“fork”), from Latin furca (“pitchfork, forked stake; gallows, beam, stake, support post, yoke”), of uncertain origin. The Middle English word was later reinforced by Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French forque (= Old French forche whence French fourche), also from the Latin. Doublet of fourche and furcate. Cognate also with North Frisian forck (“fork”), Dutch vork (“fork”), Danish fork (“fork”), German Forke (“pitchfork”). Displaced native gafol, ġeafel, ġeafle (“fork”), from Old English.
In its primary sense of “fork”, Latin furca appears to be derived from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰerk(ʷ)-, *ǵʰerg(ʷ)- (“fork”), although the development of the -c- is difficult to explain. In other senses this derivation is unlikely. For these, perhaps it is connected to Proto-Germanic *furkaz, *firkalaz (“stake, stick, pole, post”), from Proto-Indo-European *perg- (“pole, post”). If so, this would relate the word to Old English forclas pl (“bolt”), Old Saxon ferkal (“lock, bolt, bar”), Old Norse forkr (“pole, staff, stick”), Norwegian fork (“stick, bat”), Swedish fork (“pole”).

tienhaara

figurative: point in time of making a decision

afsplitsing

computer science: splitting of a process

odnož

computer science: copying and separately developing a project

bifurcació

computer science: a separately developed project based upon a copy of an existing project

a three-prong spear somewhat resembling a pitchfork

(chess) The simultaneous attack of two adversary pieces with one single attacking piece (especially a knight).


mate

From Middle English verb maten, from Middle French mater, from Old French noun mat (“checkmate”), from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât).


mate

en-verb

mate (third-person singular simple present mates, present participle mating, simple past and past participle mated)

mates (present singular third-person)
mating (participle present)
mated (participle past)
mated (past)


bitch

en-noun

bitch (countable and uncountable, plural bitches)

bitches (plural)
betch (alternative)
biatch (alternative)
biotch (alternative)
beatch (alternative)
beotch (alternative)
bih (alternative)
binch (alternative)
bish (alternative)
biyatch (alternative)
biyotch (alternative)
beeyatch (alternative)
beeyotch (alternative)
bizatch (alternative)
biz-atch (alternative)
biznatch (alternative)
b-word (alternative)
rhymes-with-rich (alternative)

→ Dutch: bitch

→? German: Betze, Bätze, Petze

→ French: bitch

From Middle English biche, bicche, from Old English biċċe, from Proto-West Germanic *bikkjā, from Proto-Germanic *bikjǭ (compare Norwegian bikkje (“dog”), Old Danish bikke), from *bikjaną (“to thrust, attack”) (compare Old Norse bikkja (“plunge into water”), Dutch bikken (“to hack”)). More at bicker.

punk

man forced into a homoerotic relationship in prison

(chess, slang, vulgar, offensive) A queen.


check

→ Ukrainian: че́кати (čékaty)

From Middle English chek, chekke, borrowed from Old French eschek, eschec, eschac, from Medieval Latin scaccus, borrowed from Arabic شَاه (šāh, “king or check at chess, shah”), borrowed from Classical Persian شَاه (šāh, “king”), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /šāh/), from Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ /xšāyaθiya/, “king”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kšáyati (“he rules, he has power over”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tek- (“to gain power over, gain control over”). All of the English senses developed from the chess sense. Compare Saterland Frisian Schak, Schach, Dutch schaak, German Schach, Danish skak, Swedish schack, Icelandic skák, French échec, Italian scacco. See chess and shah (“king of Persia or Iran”), from the same source, as well as thig, which derives from the Germanic cognate.

der

(chess) A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece.

كِشّ مَلِك

chess: when the king is directly threatened by an enemy piece


check

en-verb

check (third-person singular simple present checks, present participle checking, simple past and past participle checked)

checks (present singular third-person)
checking (participle present)
checked (participle past)
checked (past)

→ Brazilian Portuguese: checar

→ Cantonese: check

→ Dutch: checken

→ Finnish: tsekata

→ German: checken

→ Gulf Arabic: چيك (čayyak)

→ Hijazi Arabic: شَيَّك (šayyak)

→ Hungarian: csekkol

→ Russian: че́кать (čékatʹ)

→ Russian: че́кнуть (čéknutʹ)

→ Russian: проче́кать (pročékatʹ)

→ Spanish: chequear, checar (Mexico)

From Middle English chekken, partly from Old French eschequier and partly from the noun (see above).

check yourself before you wreck yourself

After I checked my opponent with a pawn, he resigned immediately.

(chess, transitive) To make a move which puts an adversary's king in check; to put in check.

كَشَّ

chess: to make a move which puts an adversary's king in check


flag

flag (third-person singular simple present flags, present participle flagging, simple past and past participle flagged)

flags (present singular third-person)
flagging (participle present)
flagged (participle past)
flagged (past)

From Middle English flag, flagge (“flag”), further etymology uncertain. Perhaps from or related to early Middle English flage (name for a baby's garment) and Old English flagg, flacg (“cataplasm, poultice, plaster”). Or, perhaps ultimately imitative, or otherwise drawn from Proto-Germanic *flaką (“something flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat, broad, plain”), referring to the shape.
Germanic cognates include Saterland Frisian Flaage (“flag”), West Frisian flagge (“flag”), Dutch vlag (“flag”), German Flagge (“flag”), Swedish flagga (“flag”), Danish flag (“flag, ship's flag”). Compare also Middle English flacken (“to flutter, palpitate”), Swedish dialectal flage (“to flutter in the wind”), Old Norse flögra (“to flap about”). Akin to Old High German flogarōn (“to flutter”), Old High German flogezen (“to flutter, flicker”), Middle English flakeren (“to move quickly to and fro”), Old English flacor (“fluttering, flying”). More at flack, flacker.

onomatopoeic

imitative

cog

Mark Dvoretsky (2014) For Friends & Colleagues, volume 1, →ISBN: “Indeed, I usually spent an hour to an hour and a half on my game, never found myself in time pressure, never once flagged in my entire life, except in blitz games, of course.”

(chess, intransitive) To lose on time, especially in a blitz game; when using a traditional analog chess clock, a flag would fall when time expired.

White was winning positionally, but Black managed to flag him and win.

(chess, transitive) To defeat (an opponent) on time, especially in a blitz game.


luft

From German Luft (“air”). Doublet of lift and loft.

(chess) A piece moved in front of a king to prevent a back-rank mate.


lady

⇒ Afrikaans: haar ladyskap

→ Arabic: لِيدِي (līdī)

Egyptian Arabic: ليدي (lēdī)

→ Belarusian: лэ́дзі (lédzi)

→ Bulgarian: ле́йди (léjdi)

→ French: lady

→ German: Lady

→ Greek: λαίδη (laídi), λέδη (lédi)

→ Italian: lady

→ Japanese: レディ (redi), レディー (redī)

→ Korean: 레이디 (reidi)

→ Latvian: lēdija

→ Macedonian: леди (ledi)

→ Polish: lady

→ Romanian: lady

→ Russian: ле́ди (lédi)

→ Spanish: lady

→ Swedish: lady

→ Tongan: leitī

→ Ukrainian: ле́ді (lédi)

→ Volapük: läd

From Middle English lady, laddy, lafdi, lavedi, from Old English hlǣfdīġe (“mistress of a household, wife of a lord, lady”, literally “bread-kneader”), from hlāf (“bread, loaf”) + dīġe (“kneader”), related to Old English dǣġe (“maker of dough”) (whence dey (“dairymaid”)). Compare also lord. More at loaf, dairy, dough. Unrelated to lad.

nais-

with a professional title: who is a woman


rapid

Borrowed from Middle French rapide and its etymon Latin rapidus.

In these rapid games we had just twenty-five minutes each to make all our moves, a far cry from traditional chess, where games can last up to seven hours.

2010, Garry Kasparov, How Life Imitates Chess, page 41:

In order to avoid misunderstanding, I must note that I object to the attempts to displace normal chess with fast play, not rapid or blitz in general. I love them both, and, if I were to choose which to play, classic or rapid, I would choose rapid.

2015, Mark Dvoretsky, For Friends and Colleagues, volume 2 (Reflections on My Profession):

I haven’t played against Wesley So—I’ve played him a bunch online in rapid games, but not in classical rounds.

2022 September 2, Nitish Pahwa, Magnus Carlsen (quoted), “The World’s Greatest Chess Player Cannot Wait to Battle His Young, Rising Rivals”, in Slate:


dragon

→ Fijian: drekoni

→ Japanese: ドラゴン (doragon)

desc

→ Korean: 드래곤 (deuraegon), 드래건 (deuraegeon)

→ Marathi: ड्रॅगन (ḍrĕgan)

→ Marshallese: tūrāikōn

→ Niuean: tarākoni

→ Swahili: dragoni

→ Tamil: டிராகன் (ṭirākaṉ)

→ Yoruba: dírágónì

From Middle English dragoun, borrowed from Old French dragon, from Latin dracō(n), from Ancient Greek δράκων (drákōn, “a serpent of huge size, a python, a dragon”), probably from δέρκομαι (dérkomai, “I see clearly”). Mostly displaced Old English draca (whence modern drake)—from the same Latin source, as are Draco, dracone, and dragoon.

taniwha

Maori mythological creature similar to a dragon

(mahjong) A class of playing tiles consisting of three types: white dragons, green dragons, and red dragons.


centaur

From Latin centaurus, from Ancient Greek κένταυρος (kéntauros), from Κένταυρος (Kéntauros, “a member of a savage race from Thessaly”).

This was not Kasparov's approach. Instead of rejecting the machines, he returned the year after his defeat to Deep Blue with a different kind of chess, which he called ‘Advanced Chess’. Other names for Advanced Chess include ‘cyborg’ and ‘centaur’ chess.

2018, James Bridle, New Dark Age: Technology, Knowledge and the End of the Future, Verso Books, →ISBN, page 159:

(chess) A chess-playing team comprising a human player and a computer who work together.


cannon

en-noun

cannon (countable and uncountable, plural cannons or (mainly UK) cannon)

cannons (plural)
cannon (UK mainly plural)

Attested from around 1400 as Middle English canon, canoun, from Old French canon, from Italian cannone, from Latin canna, from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na). Doublet of canyon. This spelling was not fixed until about 1800.

(xiangqi) A piece which moves horizontally and vertically like a rook but captures another piece by jumping over a different piece in the line of attack.


sacrifice

sacrifice (countable and uncountable, plural sacrifices)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k-
Proto-Italic *sakros
Latin sacer
Latin sacrum
Proto-Italic *fakjō
Latin facio
Proto-Indo-European *-yós
Old Latin -ios
Latin -ius
Latin -ium
Latin sacrificiumlbor.
Old French sacrifisebor.
Middle English sacrifice
English sacrifice
From Middle English sacrifice (“act of offering a life or object to a deity; the life or object so offered; (Christianity) act of consecrating the elements in the mass”), from Anglo-Norman sacrefiz, and Old French sacrifice, sacrifise (modern French sacrifice), from Latin sacrificium (“something offered to a deity, sacrifice”), from sacrum (“sacrifice, sacrificial rite”) + faciō (“to do, to make”) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns). The noun sacrum is the nominalized neuter of the adjective sacer (“devoted to a deity for sacrifice; holy, sacred”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- (“ceremony, ritual; to make sacred”), and the verb faciō is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to do; to place, put”). Related Latin formations include sacrificus (“of or pertaining to sacrifice, sacrificial”) and sacrificō (“to make a sacrifice”).
Cognates
* Italian sagrifizio
* Occitan sacrifici
* Portuguese sacrificio
* Spanish sacrificio

der

(chess) An act of intentionally allowing one's piece to be captured by the opponent in order to improve one's position in the game.

uhraus

(chess) act of intentionally allowing one’s piece to be captured by the opponent


sacrifice

en-verb

sacrifice (third-person singular simple present sacrifices, present participle sacrificing, simple past and past participle sacrificed)

sacrifices (present singular third-person)
sacrificing (participle present)
sacrificed (participle past)
sacrificed (past)
sacrifice (infinitive)
sacrifice (first-person present singular)
sacrificed (first-person past singular)
sacrifice (present second-person singular)
sacrificest (archaic present second-person singular)
sacrificed (past second-person singular)
sacrificedst (archaic past second-person singular)
sacrifices (present singular third-person)
sacrificeth (archaic present singular third-person)
sacrificed (past singular third-person)
sacrifice (plural present)
sacrificed (past plural)
sacrifice (present subjunctive)
sacrificed (past subjunctive)
sacrifice (imperative present)
sacrificing (participle present)
sacrificed (participle past)

From Middle English sacrificen (“to offer a sacrifice to a deity”), from sacrifice (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming infinitives of verbs).

flijoj

(transitive) to offer (a human being or an animal, or an object) to a deity; (transitive) to offer a human being or an animal, or an object, to a deity

(chess) To intentionally allow (a piece) to be captured by the opponent in order to improve one's position in the game.

жертвам

(chess) to intentionally allow (a piece) to be captured by the opponent in order to improve one’s position in the game


attraction

en-noun

attraction (countable and uncountable, plural attractions)

[əˈtɹækʃ(ɪ̈)n]

[əˈt͡ʃɹækʃ(ɪ̈)n]

From Middle English attraccioun, from Old French attraction, from Latin attractio from past participle of attrahō (= ad + trahō), equivalent to attract + -ion.

(chess) The sacrifice of pieces in order to expose the enemy king.


opposition

/ˌɒp.əˈzɪʃ.ən/

/ˌɑ.pəˈzɪʃ.ən/

From Middle English opposicioun, from Old French oposicion (whence French opposition), from Late Latin oppositiō, translating Ancient Greek ἀντίθεσις (antíthesis), from the past participle stem of classical Latin oppōnō (“I set against”).

(chess) A position in which the player on the move must yield with his king allowing his opponent to advance with his own king.


study

study (countable and uncountable, plural studies)

From Middle English studie, from Old French estudie (Modern French étude), borrowed from Latin studium (“zeal, dedication, study”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewd- (“to push, hit”). Doublet of etude and studio.

der

(chess) An endgame problem composed for artistic merit, where one side is to play for a win or for a draw.


battery

en-noun

battery (countable and uncountable, plural batteries)

→ Korean: 배터리 (baeteori)

Borrowed from Middle French batterie, from Old French baterie (“action of beating”), from batre (“battre”), from Latin battuō (“beat”), from Gaulish. Doublet of batterie. By surface analysis, batter + -y.
The sense “electric battery” was coined by American polymath Benjamin Franklin by analogy with a military battery that his series of Leyden jars resembled.

coin

(chess) Two or more pieces working together on the same rank, file, or diagonal

ketju

chess: two or more major pieces in a row


development

en-noun

development (countable and uncountable, plural developments)

developments (plural)
developement (alternative)

From French développement, from Old French desvelopemens (“unrolling”). By surface analysis, develop + -ment. First attested in 1756.

White's development is good, but black's has been hampered by the pawn on e5.

(chess, uncountable) The active placement of the pieces, or the process of achieving it.


develop

en-verb

develop (third-person singular simple present develops, present participle developing, simple past and past participle developed or (archaic, rare) developt)

develops (present singular third-person)
developing (participle present)
developed (participle past)
developed (past)
developt (archaic participle past rare)
developt (archaic past rare)
develope (alternative archaic)

Borrowed from French développer, from Middle French desveloper, from Old French desveloper, from des- + voloper, veloper, vloper (“to wrap, wrap up”) (compare Italian sviluppare, Old Italian alternative form goluppare (“to wrap”)) from Vulgar Latin *vloppō, *wloppō (“to wrap”) ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wrappaną, *wlappaną (“to wrap, roll up, turn, wind”), from Proto-Indo-European *werb- (“to turn, bend”) http://www.wordnik.com/words/envelop. Akin to Middle English wlappen (“to wrap, fold”) (Modern English lap (“to wrap, involve, fold”)), Middle English wrappen (“to wrap”), Middle Dutch lappen (“to wrap up, embrace”), dialectal Danish vravle (“to wind, twist”), Middle Low German wrempen (“to wrinkle, scrunch, distort”), Old English wearp (“warp”). The word acquired its modern meaning from the 17th-century belief that an egg contains the animal in miniature and matures by growing larger and shedding its envelopes.

cog

I need to develop my white-square bishop.

(chess, transitive) To place one's pieces actively.


discovery

en-noun

discovery (countable and uncountable, plural discoveries)

discoveries (plural)
discoverie (alternative obsolete)

from discover + -ery, on the pattern of the pair recover, recovery. Displaced native Old English onfundennes.

1700: "If I play f4, he can check me with ...Qd4, but then he has to move his Queen because he can easily lose it to a Bishop discovery on b5. He could also check me on c5 when his Queen might be safer. I could just move out of the way, though, and continue my attack."

1999, Jeremy Silman, The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions Into Chess Mastery, 2nd edition, Los Angeles, C.A.: Siles Press, →ISBN, page 189:

discovered attack
discovered attack#Noun


discover

en-verb

discover (third-person singular simple present discovers, present participle discovering, simple past and past participle discovered)

discovers (present singular third-person)
discovering (participle present)
discovered (participle past)
discovered (past)
discovre (alternative)

conceal

antonym(s) of “expose something previously covered”

From Middle English discoveren, from Old French descovrir, from Late Latin discoperīre < discooperiō, discooperīre, from Latin dis- + cooperiō. Displaced native Old English onfindan.

This move discovers an attack on a vital pawn.

(transitive, chess) To create by moving a piece out of another piece's line of attack.


stalemate

en-noun

stalemate (countable and uncountable, plural stalemates)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-stalemate.wav

The game is drawn when the player to move has no legal move and his/her king is not in check. The game is said to end in ‘stalemate’. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing the stalemate position was in accordance with Article 3 and Articles 4.2 – 4.7.

(chess) The state in which the player to move is not in check but has no legal moves, resulting in a draw.


stalemate

en-verb

stalemate (third-person singular simple present stalemates, present participle stalemating, simple past and past participle stalemated)

stalemates (present singular third-person)
stalemating (participle present)
stalemated (participle past)
stalemated (past)

(chess, transitive) To bring about a state in which the player to move is not in check but has no legal moves.


stale

From Middle English stale, from Old French estal (“place, something placed”) (compare French étal), from Frankish stal, from Proto-Germanic *stallaz, earlier *staþlaz. Related to stall and stand.

der

They stand at a stay; Like a Stale at Chesse, where it is no Mate, but yet the Game cannot stirre.

1625, Francis Bacon, Essays, section 65:

(chess, uncommon) A stalemate; a stalemated game.


stale

Then drawith he & is stale.

(chess, obsolete) At a standstill; stalemated.


stale

en-verb

stale (third-person singular simple present stales, present participle staling, simple past and past participle staled)

stales (present singular third-person)
staling (participle present)
staled (participle past)
staled (past)

He shall stale þe black kyng in the pointe þer the crosse standith.

In China, however, a player who stales his opponent's King, wins the game.

1903, H. J. R. Murray, Brit. Chess. Mag., section 283:

(chess, uncommon, transitive) To stalemate.

For vnder cuire I got sik check, that I micht neither muife nor neck, bot ather stale or mait.

1597, A. Montgomerie, Cherrie & Slae, section 202:

(chess, obsolete, intransitive) To be stalemated.


adopt

adopt (third-person singular simple present adopts, present participle adopting, simple past and past participle adopted)

adopts (present singular third-person)
adopting (participle present)
adopted (participle past)
adopted (past)
adopt (infinitive)
adopt (first-person present singular)
adopted (first-person past singular)
adopt (present second-person singular)
adoptest (archaic present second-person singular)
adopted (past second-person singular)
adoptedst (archaic past second-person singular)
adopts (present singular third-person)
adopteth (archaic present singular third-person)
adopted (past singular third-person)
adopt (plural present)
adopted (past plural)
adopt (present subjunctive)
adopted (past subjunctive)
adopt (imperative present)
adopting (participle present)
adopted (participle past)

From Middle French adopter, from Latin adoptō; ad + optō (“to choose, desire”), equivalent to ad- + opt.

تَبَنَّى

to take by choice into relationship, as, child, heir, friend, citizen

The match was not even close; the IM made amateurish blunders and ended up getting adopted.

Nakamura 'Adopts' Komodo On Fathers Day: 20.5-2.5

2018 June 19, Peter Doggers, “(title)”, in Chess.com, archived from the original on 2022-05-21:

Wednesday's event will offer the Russian grandmaster three opportunities to adopt Rensch, though just like in the Speed Chess Championship, Nepomniachtchi will have to race against the clock.

2020 May 27, “Adopt-A-Danny Returns Wednesday With Ian Nepomniachtchi”, in Chess.com, archived from the original on 2020-05-27:

"That's it, that's it!" the Grandmaster Eric Hansen bellowed after following nine straight losses with a win. "You are not adopting me! Not today, not today!"

2022 April 12, Jacob Sweet, “The Most Popular Chess Streamer on Twitch”, in The New Yorker, archived from the original on 2022-08-26:

There was wasn't much for Gukesh fans to cheer, but at least he avoided the fate of Maghsoodloo, who was "adopted", i.e. beaten 10 games in a row. Gukesh struck in the 2nd 3+1 game, when he was dangerously close to that mark.

2022 December 7, Colin McGourty, “Carlsen plays "horribly", beats Gukesh 23:7”, in chess24, archived from the original on 2022-12-09:

(chess, slang) To beat an opponent ten times in a row.


move

move (third-person singular simple present moves, present participle moving, simple past and past participle moved)

moves (present singular third-person)
moving (participle present)
moved (participle past)
moved (past)
move (infinitive)
move (first-person present singular)
moved (first-person past singular)
move (present second-person singular)
movest (archaic present second-person singular)
moved (past second-person singular)
movedst (archaic past second-person singular)
moves (present singular third-person)
moveth (archaic present singular third-person)
moved (past singular third-person)
move (plural present)
moved (past plural)
move (present subjunctive)
moved (past subjunctive)
move (imperative present)
moving (participle present)
moved (participle past)
meve (alternative)
mieve (alternative obsolete)
mooue (alternative obsolete)
moove (alternative obsolete)

→ Dutch: moven

From Middle English moven, moeven, meven, borrowed from Old Northern French mover, moveir and Old French mouver, moveir (“to move”) (compare modern French mouvoir from Old French movoir), from Latin movēre (“move; change, exchange, go in or out, quit”), from Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- (“to move, drive”). Cognate with Lithuanian mauti (“to push on, rush”), Sanskrit मीवति (mī́vati, “pushes, presses, moves”), Middle Dutch mouwe (“sleeve”). Largely displaced native English stir, from Middle English stiren, sturien, from Old English styrian.

تَحَرَّكَ

(transitive) to change the place of something

She moved the queen closer to the centre of the board.

He rolled a 5 and moved his counter to Boardwalk, the most expensive property on the Monopoly board.

(transitive, chess, board games) To transfer (a piece) from one space or position on the board to another.

շարժել

to transfer from one space or position to another

ኣንቀሳቐሰ

ʾanḳäsax̣äsä


calculate

en-verb

calculate (third-person singular simple present calculates, present participle calculating, simple past and past participle calculated)

calculates (present singular third-person)
calculating (participle present)
calculated (participle past)
calculated (past)
calculate (infinitive)
calculate (first-person present singular)
calculated (first-person past singular)
calculate (present second-person singular)
calculatest (archaic present second-person singular)
calculated (past second-person singular)
calculatedst (archaic past second-person singular)
calculates (present singular third-person)
calculateth (archaic present singular third-person)
calculated (past singular third-person)
calculate (plural present)
calculated (past plural)
calculate (present subjunctive)
calculated (past subjunctive)
calculate (imperative present)
calculating (participle present)
calculated (participle past)

Borrowed from Latin calculātus, perfect passive participle of calculō (“to reckon, compute, calculate”, originally by means of pebbles) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from calculus (“a pebble”), further from calx (“limestone”, calc- in compounds) + -ulus (forms diminutives).

af

(chess) To imagine sequences of potential moves and responses without actually moving the pieces.


exchange

en-noun

exchange (countable and uncountable, plural exchanges)

From Middle English eschaunge, borrowed from Anglo-Norman eschaunge, from Old French eschange (whence modern French échange), from the verb eschanger, from Vulgar Latin *excambiāre (from Latin ex with Late Latin cambiō). Spelling later changed on the basis of ex-, with pronunciation following. By surface analysis, ex- + change.

(chess) The loss of one piece and associated capture of another.

(usually with "the") The loss of a minor piece (typically a bishop or knight) and associated capture of the more advantageous rook.


expert

From Old French, from Latin expertus, from ex (“out”) + peritus (“experienced, expert”), perfect active participle of the unattested verb *perior (“I go through”), itself from Proto-Indo-European *per-.

initiate

anyone initiated, anywhere from basic familiarity to expertise

(chess) A player ranking just below master.


transposition

transposition (countable and uncountable, plural transpositions)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-transposition.wav

From Middle French transposition, from Medieval Latin transpositio.

(chess) A sequence of moves resulting in a position that may also be reached by another, more common sequence.


combination

combination (countable and uncountable, plural combinations)

→ Japanese: コンビネーション (konbinēshon)

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle English combinacioun, combynacyoun, from Old French combination, from Late Latin combīnātiō.
Morphologically combine + -ation

(chess) An advantageous sequence of forcing or nearly forcing moves, often initiated with a sacrifice.


chessboard

chessboards (plural)
chess board (alternative)

If a piece moves to a square occupied by an opponent’s piece the latter is captured and removed from the chessboard as part of the same move.

2022, “2023 Laws of Chess”, in FIDE, page 4:

(chess) The square board used in the game of chess, subdivided into eight rows of eight squares each, the squares in each row and column being of alternating colours.


inaccuracy

inaccuracy (countable and uncountable, plural inaccuracies)

(chess) A move that is considered suboptimal, but not as bad as a blunder.


fix

en-verb

fix (third-person singular simple present fixes, present participle fixing, simple past and past participle fixt or fixed)

fixes (present singular third-person)
fixing (participle present)
fixt (participle past)
fixt (past)
fixed (participle past)
fixed (past)
fix (infinitive)
fix (first-person present singular)
fixed (first-person past singular)
fix (present second-person singular)
fixest (archaic present second-person singular)
fixed (past second-person singular)
fixedst (archaic past second-person singular)
fixes (present singular third-person)
fixeth (archaic present singular third-person)
fixed (past singular third-person)
fix (plural present)
fixed (past plural)
fix (present subjunctive)
fixed (past subjunctive)
fix (imperative present)
fixing (participle present)
fixed (participle past)
fixe (alternative archaic)

→ Dutch: fixen, fiksen

From Middle English fixen, borrowed from Old French *fixer (attested only as ficher, fichier; > English fitch), from fix (“fastened; fixed”), from Latin fīxus (“immovable; steady; stable; fixed”), from fīgō (“to drive in; stick; fasten”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to jab; stick; set”). Related to dig.

der

(transitive) To attach; to affix; to hold in place or at a particular time.

(transitive, chess) To prevent enemy pawns from advancing by directly opposing the most advanced one with one of one's own pawns so as to threaten to capture any advancing backward pawns.


try

tries (plural)
trie (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English trien (“to separate out, sift, choose, select, evaluate, try a legal case”), from Anglo-Norman trier, triher, triere (“to divide, separate, choose, select, prove, determine, try a case”), Old French trier (“to choose, pick out or separate from others, sift, cull”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Occitan triar (“to choose, sort, scrutinise, peel”), Catalan triar (“to pick, choose, decide”). Suggested to be derived from Late Latin *trītāre (“to crush, grind, trample, wear out”), itself derived from Classical Latin trītus (“rubbed, worn down, pulverised”), the past participle of terō, terere (“to rub, wear down, trample”), though this derivation is incompatible with the Occitan form. Additionally, the shift in meaning from "rub, crush, trample" to "pick out, choose, cull" is difficult to explain. One suggestion is that the semantic shift might have originated from a Latin phrase *granum terere ("to tread the corn (in threshing)"; compare Latin trītūra (“rubbing, chafing, friction" also "threshing”)), which has a parallel in the modern French trier le grain (“to sort the grain”). Alternatively, perhaps derived from Vulgar Latin *trīāre, a metathetic alteration of *tīrāre (“to tear off, pull, draw”), whence also Old French tirer (“to draw, pull, pluck, tug, peck at, extract”), Occitan tirar (“to take, draw, retrieve, remove, extract”).
Replaced native Middle English cunnen (“to try”) (from Old English cunnian), Middle English fandien (“to try, prove”) (from Old English fandian), and Middle English costnien (“to try, tempt, test”) (from Old English costnian).

gl

"to tread the corn (in threshing)"; compare Latin <i class="Latn mention" lang="la">trītūra</i> (“rubbing, chafing, friction" also "threshing”)

cog

[t̠͡ɹ̠̊˔aɪ̯]

[t̠͡ɹ̠̊˔ʷaɪ̯]

(chess) A move that almost solves a chess problem, except that Black has a unique defense.


soldier

soldiers (plural)
soldior (alternative obsolete)
soldiour (alternative obsolete)
souldier (alternative obsolete)
souldior (alternative obsolete)
souldiour (alternative obsolete)

Inherited from Middle English soudeour, from Old French soudier or soudeour (“mercenary”), from Medieval Latin soldarius (“soldier (one having pay)”), from Late Latin solidus, a type of coin. Displaced Old English cempa (whence obsolete kemp).
(red herring): An allusion to soldiers' red uniforms; red herring is, reciprocally, a slang term for "soldier".

der

(xiangqi) A xiangqi piece that moves and captures by advancing one point. Once it has crossed the river, it may also move and capture one point horizontally.


royal

en-adj

royal (comparative royaler or royaller, superlative royalest or royallest)

royaler (comparative)
royaller (comparative)
royalest (superlative)
royallest (superlative)
r. (alternative abbreviation)
roial (alternative obsolete)
roiall (alternative obsolete)
royall (alternative obsolete)
royaler (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English royal, from Old French roial (Modern French royal), from Latin rēgālis, from rēx (“king”). Doublet of regal (“befitting a king”), real (“unit of currency”), ariary, and riyal. Cognate with Spanish real. Displaced native Old English cynelīċ.

doublet

Maharajah and the Sepoys pits a single royal amazon for white against a standard chess army for black.

(chess) Describing a piece which, if captured, results in loss of game.


position

From Middle English posicioun, from Old French posicion, from Latin positiō (“a putting, position”), from positus (“placed, situated”), past participle of pōnō (“to place”); see ponent. Compare apposition, composition, deposition; see pose.

позиция

finance: amount of financial instruments held by someone

emergency position indicating radio beacon

emergency position indicating radio-beacon

emergency position indicating radiobeacon

(chess) The full state of a chess game at any given turn.


penetrate

en-verb

penetrate (third-person singular simple present penetrates, present participle penetrating, simple past and past participle penetrated)

penetrates (present singular third-person)
penetrating (participle present)
penetrated (participle past)
penetrated (past)

From Latin penētrātus, perfect passive participle of penētrō (“to put, set, or place within, enter, pierce, penetrate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from penes (“within, with”) by analogy to intrō (“to go in, enter”). Compare French pénétrer.

(chess) To move a piece past the defending pieces of one's opponent.


place

en-noun

place (countable and uncountable, plural places)

Pijin: ples

Tok Pisin: ples

From Middle English place, conflation of Old English plæċe (“place, an open space, street”) and Old French place (“place, an open space”), both from Latin platea (“plaza, wide street”), from Ancient Greek πλατεῖα (plateîa), shortening of πλατεῖα ὁδός (plateîa hodós, “broad way”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- (“to spread”), extended form of *pleh₂- (“flat”). Displaced native Old English stōw, stede, and -ern. Compare also English pleck (“plot of ground”), West Frisian plak (“place, spot, location”), Dutch plek (“place, spot, patch”). Doublet of piatza, piazza, and plaza.

noncog

all over the place like a mad woman's custard

lightning does not strike twice in the same place

lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place

lightning never strikes twice in the same place

there is a place and time for everything

there is a time and place for everything

there's a time and a place for everything

(chess, obsolete) A chess position; a square of the chessboard.


pork

non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger

(chess) A position in which a player's pieces are both pinned and forked at the same time.


blockade

From block + -ade, probably after Dutch blocquade (now blokkade) or German Blockade.

blockage

nearly synonymous, but not interchangeably; blockade usually denotes human agency

(chess) The act of preventing an opponent's pawn moving by placing a piece in front of it.


IM

en-noun

IM (countable and uncountable, plural IMs)

International Master
International Master#English

(countable, chess) Initialism of International Master.


hanging

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

nonlemma

(chess, of a piece) Unprotected and exposed to capture.


rank

en-noun

rank (countable and uncountable, plural ranks)

From Middle English rank (“line, row”), from Old French ranc, rang, reng (“line, row, rank”) (Modern French rang), from Frankish *hring (“ring”), from Proto-Germanic *hringaz (“something bent or curved”).
Akin to Old High German (h)ring, Old Frisian hring, Old English hring, hrincg (“ring”), Old Norse hringr (“ring, circle, queue, sword; ship”). Doublet of ring and rink.

cog

(chess) One of the eight horizontal lines of squares on a chessboard (i.e., those identified by a number).

хоризонта́ла

chess: one of the horizontal lines of squares


seal

en-verb

seal (third-person singular simple present seals, present participle sealing, simple past and past participle sealed)

seals (present singular third-person)
sealing (participle present)
sealed (participle past)
sealed (past)

From Middle English sele, from Anglo-Norman seel, from Latin sigillum, a diminutive of signum (“sign”).
Doublet of sigil and sigillum.

After thinking for half an hour, the champion sealed his move.

(transitive, chess) To place a notation of one's next move in a sealed envelope to be opened after an adjournment.

sinetöidä

chess: to place a notation of one's next move in a sealed envelope


delay

en-noun

delay (countable and uncountable, plural delays)

→ Portuguese: delay

From Middle English delaien, borrowed from Anglo-Norman delaier, Old French deslaier, from des- + Old French laier (“to leave”), a conflation of Old Frankish *lattjan ("to delay, hinder"; from Proto-Germanic *latjaną (“to delay, hinder, stall”), from Proto-Indo-European *leh₁d- (“to leave, leave behind”)), and Old Frankish *laibijan ("to leave"; from Proto-Germanic *laibijaną (“to leave, cause to stay”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to remain, continue”)). Doublet of dally.
Akin to Old English latian (“to delay, hesitate”), Old English latu (“a delay, a hindrance”), Old English lǣfan (“to leave”). More at let (to hinder), late, leave.

cog

(chess) An amount of time provided on each move before one's clock starts to tick; a less common time control than increment.


dubious

en-adj

dubious (comparative more dubious, superlative most dubious)

more dubious (comparative)
most dubious (superlative)

Etymology tree
Latin dubiusbor.
English dubious
From Latin dubius; like doubt, from Latin duo (cognate to English two), implying “two alternatives” (yes or no, true or false, etc.).

etymon

(chess, chiefly of an opening move) Generally considered imprecise or wrong, but not totally unplayable.


material

en-noun

material (countable and uncountable, plural materials)

From Middle English material, from Late Latin māteriālis, from Latin māteria (“wood, material, substance”), from māter (“mother”). Displaced native Middle English andweorc, andwork (“material, matter”) (from Old English andweorc (“matter, substance, material”)). Doublet of materiel.

aineisto

related data of various kinds collected as the basis for a document or book

(chess) All of a player's pieces and pawns on the chessboard, excluding the king.


blitz

en-noun

blitz (countable and uncountable, plural blitzes)

Clipping of blitzkrieg, from German Blitzkrieg (literally “lightning war”).

der

What I had played was chess. Specially, I knocked out some 2,000 games of speed (or "blitz") chess in the two months leading up to the tournament. In fact, I played so much that I'm currently in the top half-percent of more than 1.3 million of blitz players at an online chess competition site.

2013 June 24, Mark Samuelian, “Speed Chess Changed My Brain”, in The Atlantic:

In order to avoid misunderstanding, I must note that I object to the attempts to displace normal chess with fast play, not rapid or blitz in general. I love them both, and, if I were to choose which to play, classic or rapid, I would choose rapid.

(uncountable, chess) Ellipsis of blitz chess.


rider

[ˈɹ̠aɪdə(ɹ̠)]

/ˈɹɑɪ.də(ɹ)/

[ˈɹ̠ʷɑe̯də(ɹʷ)]

[ˈɹ̠aɪɾ(ə)ɹ̠]

[ˈɹ̠əjɾ(ə)ɹ̠]

writer (with flapping but without Canadian raising)

From Middle English ryder, ridere, from Late Old English rīdere (“rider, knight”). Compare Dutch rijder, German Reiter. By surface analysis, ride + -er.

kalorës

one who rides — see also cyclist, driver

допълни́телна кла́уза

politics: additional provision annexed to a bill

дополне́ние

к докуме́нту

(chess) A piece, such as the rook or bishop, which moves any distance in one direction, as long as no other piece is in the way.


convert

en-verb

convert (third-person singular simple present converts, present participle converting, simple past and past participle converted)

converts (present singular third-person)
converting (participle present)
converted (participle past)
converted (past)

[kʰə̥ɱˈvɜːt]

From Old French convertir, from Latin converto (“turn around”).

On the final day Marshall won a pawn as Black from another old rival, Hodges, but couldn't convert it and played on until a drawn king-and-pawn endgame.

1994, Andrew Soltis, Frank Marshall, United States Chess Champion, McFarland, Inc, →ISBN, page 262:

In a serious game, the same event often takes place: the attacking side, out of pure inertia, tries to convert an advantage which he or she no longer has, thus giving the defending side winning chances.

2012, Daniel Naroditsky, Mastering Complex Endgames, New In Chess, →ISBN, page 56:

Black has survived the attack and is better due to his active king! Many moves later, he converted.

2021, Frank Erwich, 1001 Chess Exercises for Advanced Club Players, New In Chess, →ISBN:

(ambitransitive, chess) To transform a material or positional advantage into a win.


backward

en-adj

backward (comparative more backward, superlative most backward)

more backward (comparative)
most backward (superlative)

From Middle English bakwarde, abakward, equivalent to back (adverb) + -ward. Cognate with Old Frisian bekward (“backward”).

geri

often reduplicated - mainly for the senses implying "retreat"

(chess) Of a pawn, further behind than pawns of the same colour on adjacent files and unable to be moved forward safely.


gambit

gambits (plural)
gambett (alternative obsolete)

From Italian gambetto (“act of tripping; gambit”), from Italian gamba (“leg”), from Late Latin gamba.

bor

Her clever gambit gave her an advantage.

(chess) An opening in chess in which a minor piece or a pawn is sacrificed to gain an advantage.


gambit

en-verb

gambit (third-person singular simple present gambits, present participle gambiting, simple past and past participle gambited)

gambits (present singular third-person)
gambiting (participle present)
gambited (participle past)
gambited (past)
gambett (alternative obsolete)

(chess, transitive) To sacrifice (a pawn or minor piece) to gain an advantage.


motif

From French motif (1848), with the meaning of "main idea or theme". Doublet of motive.

(chess) A basic element of a move in terms of why the piece moves and how it supports the fulfilment of a stipulation.


calculation

en-noun

calculation (countable and uncountable, plural calculations)

/ˌkælkjəˈlæɪʃən/

From Middle English calculation, borrowed from Latin calculatio, calculationis.
Morphologically calculate + -ion

(chess, uncountable) The act or process of imagining sequences of potential moves and responses without actually moving the pieces.

reading

act or process of imagining sequences of moves


classical

classical (countable and uncountable, plural classicals)

See classic § Etymology for history. By surface analysis, class + -ical = classic + -al

When I want to have fun I play blitz. When I want to go deeper and work on improving my game, I play classical and I try to do it in tournament settings.

2015 November 3, solskytz, “IM Greg Shahade: "Slow Chess should die a fast death"”, in Chess.com:

In early September, Niemann scored an extraordinary win against Carlsen during an in-person tournament in St. Louis, Missouri. Carlsen, the world’s highest-rated player since 2011, lost with the white pieces in the classical time format, a rare occurrence for the chess juggernaut.

2022 September 23, Brian Pempus, “Hans Niemann Eliminated, Magnus Carlsen A -350 Betting Favorite To Win Online Chess Event”, in Forbes:


fortress

Early 14 c., from Old French forteresce, forteresse, forterece (“strong place, fortification”), variant of fortelesse, from Medieval Latin fortalitia, from Latin fortis (“strong”) (see fort) + -itia, added to adjectives to form nouns of quality or condition. French -ess, from Latin -itia is also in words such as duress, largesse and riches. For change of medial -l- to -r- in Old French, compare orne (“elm”) from ulmus; chartre from cartula and chapitre from capitulum. First attested in the 12th century.

der

(chess) A position that, if obtained by the weaker side, will prevent penetration by the opposing side, generally achieving a draw.


reach

From Japanese 立直 (rīchi), from Chinese 立直 (lìzhí).

(mahjong, pachinko) Alternative form of riichi.


bingo

en-noun

bingo (countable and uncountable, plural bingos)

→ Polish: bingo

→ Chinese: 賓果 /宾果 (bīnguǒ)

Alternative form of bing, suggesting a ringing sound. Attested since 1925.

(countable, Scrabble, US) A play where all seven of a player's letter tiles are played, awarding a score bonus.


honor

honor (countable and uncountable, plural honors)

honors (plural)
honour (alternative British Commonwealth Ireland)

From Middle English honour, honor, honur, from Anglo-Norman honour, honur, from Old French honor, from Latin honor.
Displaced Middle English menske (“honor, dignity among men”), from Old Norse menskr (“honor”).
The verb is from Middle English honouren, honuren (“to honor”).

оньо́р

card games: one of the most valuable cards

a prophet has no honor in his own country

a prophet is not without honor save in his own country

(countable, card games) In bridge, an ace, king, queen, jack, or ten especially of the trump suit; in some other games, an ace, king, queen or jack.

(countable, mahjong) a dragon or wind tile.


old lady

Watch out for that old lady waiting for you.


miniature

/ˈmɪn(i)ət͡ʃʊəɹ/

/ˈmɪnɪt͡ʃəɹ/

Borrowed from Italian miniatura (“manuscript illumination”), from miniare (“to illuminate”), from Latin miniō (“to colour red”), from minium (“red lead”).

bor

(chess) A chess game which is concluded with very few moves.


norm

From Latin norma (“a carpenter's square, a rule, a pattern, a precept”). Doublet of norma.

норма

math: function that maps vectors to non-negative reals

(chess) A high level of performance in a chess tournament, several of which are required for a player to receive a title.


hopper

From Middle English hoppere, alteration of *hoppe (found in grashoppe (“grasshopper”)), from Old English *hoppa (“one who hops, hopper”), equivalent to hop + -er. Cognate with Dutch hopper (“hopper”), Swedish hoppare (“hopper, jumper”), Icelandic hoppari (“hopper”).

der

(chess) A fairy chess piece which moves only by jumping over another piece.


contempt

en-noun

contempt (countable and uncountable, plural contempts)

contempts (plural)
cōtempt (alternative obsolete)
cõtempt (alternative obsolete)

From Latin contemptus (“scorn”), from contemnō (“I scorn, despise”), from com- + temnō (“I despise”). Displaced native Old English forsewennes.

(chess, uncountable) Ellipsis of contempt factor.


horizon

Inherited from Middle English orisonte, orisoun, from Middle French horizon, horizonte, from Old French orisonte, orison, via Latin horizōn, from Ancient Greek ὁρίζων (horízōn), from ὅρος (hóros, “boundary”).

(computer chess) The point at which a computer chess algorithm stops searching for further moves.


promotion

promotion (countable and uncountable, plural promotions)

/pɹəˈmoʊʃən/

/pɹəˈməʊʃən/

Late Middle English, from Old French promocion, from Late Latin promotio, from Latin promoveo (“I move forward”).

(chess) Transformation of a pawn into a piece (by reaching the opponent's back rank).


patzer

Uncertain, but probably from German Patzer (“bungler”), from patzen.

If you have learned the principle that it is inadvisable to move the same piece twice in the opening you would probably imagine that these guys are patzers.

2004 September 5, Nigel Short, The Sunday Telegraph:

(chess, informal, derogatory) Synonym of woodpusher: a bad player.


prophylaxis

prophylaxis (countable and uncountable, plural prophylaxes)

From Latin, from Ancient Greek πρό (pró, “before”) + φύλαξις (phúlaxis, “a watching, guarding”).

(chess) A move or strategy that frustrates an opponent's plan or tactic.


transpose

en-verb

transpose (third-person singular simple present transposes, present participle transposing, simple past and past participle transposed)

transposes (present singular third-person)
transposing (participle present)
transposed (participle past)
transposed (past)

From Middle English transposen, from Old French transposer, from Latin trānspositus, perfect passive participle of trānspōnō (“to put across”), from trāns (“across”) + pōnō (“to put”).

After e6, the opening transposed to a Sicilian.

(intransitive, chess) To reach a position that may also be obtained from a different move order.


promote

promote (third-person singular simple present promotes, present participle promoting, simple past and past participle promoted)

promotes (present singular third-person)
promoting (participle present)
promoted (participle past)
promoted (past)

From Latin prōmōtus, perfect passive participle of prōmoveō (“move forward, advance”).

Having crossed the chessboard, his pawn was promoted to a queen.

(transitive, chess) To exchange (a pawn) for a queen or other piece when it reaches the eighth rank.

umwandeln

replace a pawn by a different chess piece


chow

Phono-semantic matching of Chinese 吃 (chī, literally “to eat”), influenced by the “food” sense of Etymology 1 above.

psm

(mahjong) A run of three consecutive tiles of the same suit.

順子 /顺子

mahjong: a set of three consecutive tiles

(mahjong) A call for forming such a run using a discarded tile.

上

mahjong: a call for a set of three consecutive tiles


chow

en-verb

chow (third-person singular simple present chows, present participle chowing, simple past and past participle chowed)

chows (present singular third-person)
chowing (participle present)
chowed (participle past)
chowed (past)

[…] while the adversary on his right will repeatedly bury in the discard the very tiles he wishes to chow but can't.

2007, Eleanor Noss Whitney, A Mah Jong Handbook: How to Play, Score, and Win, page 154:

(mahjong) To call a discarded tile to produce a chow.


zwischenzug

From German Zwischenzug, from zwischen (“between”) + Zug (“move”).

2002, Eric Schiller, Standard Chess Openings, second edition, Cardoza Publishing, New York; Game (132).
After 12.g4 Be6; Black's 11th move becomes a zwischenzug to provoke another White pawn weakness.

(chess) A tactical move which interrupts the execution of the current plan.


quad

Shortened, via clipping or abbreviation, from various English terms. Ultimately related to Latin quattuor (“4”); compare quadri-, quadruple.
The typography senses are from the abbreviation quad. for obsolete quadrat; the keyboard command comes from the verb sense.

Clipping of quadruplet (“a set of four; one of a set of four”).

(chess) A kind of round-robin tournament between four players, where each participant plays every other participant once.


on time

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-on time.wav

Smith beat Jones on time.

(chess) By a player's running out of time.


GM

en-noun

GM (countable and uncountable, plural GMs)

(countable, chess) Initialism of Grandmaster or grandmaster.


outpost

(chess) A square protected by a pawn that is in or near the enemy's stronghold.


pung

(mahjong) A set of three identical tiles.

(mahjong) A call for forming such a set using a discarded tile.

碰

mahjong: a call for a set of three identical tiles


tactic

tactics (plural)
tactick (alternative obsolete)

Borrowed from New Latin tactica, from Ancient Greek τακτικός (taktikós, “fit for ordering”), from τάσσω (tássō, “to order, to arrange”).

der

(chess) A sequence of moves that limits the opponent's options and results in an immediate and tangible advantage, typically in the form of material.


king's pawn

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-king's pawn.wav

(chess) A pawn on the E file, where the kings start the game.


across the board

Originated with horse racing, where an "across the board" bet was one which covered first, second and third on the betting board.

(chess) Of a move or sequence of play, made in response to developments occurring in the game, as opposed to pre-planned or according to theory.


double check

double checks (plural)
double-check (alternative)
doublecheck (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-double check.wav

(chess, uncountable) A check delivered by two pieces simultaneously.


kan

(mahjong) A set of four identical tiles.

(mahjong) A call declaring the formation of such a set.


desperado

en-noun

desperado (plural desperadoes or desperados)

desperadoes (plural)
desperados (plural)

/dɛspəˈɹɑːdəʊ/

From obsolete Spanish desperado, past participle of desperar, archaic form of desesperar (“to despair”), from Latin disperare (“to despair, to lose hope”), from prefix dis- + sperare (“to hope”). Doublet of desperate.

der

(chess) A piece that seems determined to give itself up, typically to bring about stalemate or perpetual check.


advisor

(xiangqi) A xiangqi piece that is moved one point diagonally and confined within the palace.


algebraic

en-adj

algebraic (comparative more algebraic, superlative most algebraic)

more algebraic (comparative)
most algebraic (superlative)

transcendental

antonym(s) of “that is the root of some polynomial”

transcendental

antonym(s) of “whose every element is the root of some polynomial”

/ˌæl.d͡ʒɪˈbɹeɪ.ɪk/

/ˌæl.d͡ʒɪˈbɹæɪ.ɪk/

Partly from algebra + -ic and partly from French algébraïque.

(chess, of notation) Describing squares by file (referred to in intrinsic order rather than by the piece starting on that file) and rank, both with reference to a fixed point rather than a player-dependent perspective.

algebrallinen

of a particular notation for chess moves that assigns each square a letter and a number defined from a player-independent perspective


interference

en-noun

interference (countable and uncountable, plural interferences)

/ˌɪntə(ɹ)ˈfɪəɹəns/

/ˌɪntəɹˈfɪɹɪns/

From interfere + -ence. The sense in physics was likely introduced by English polymath Thomas Young, which he used as early as 1801 in a paper in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

(chess) The interruption of the line between an attacked piece and its defender by sacrificially interposing a piece.


fianchetto

/fɪənˈt͡ʃɛtəʊ/

/fɪənˈkɛtəʊ/

From Italian fianchetto, diminutive of fianco (“flank”).

I’m not a hero, I’m not even a chessboard knight. Trying to be a priest was something of a fianchetto wasn’t it? Clever move by a poor player.

1994, Jeanette Winterson, Art & Lies, →ISBN:

(chess) The development of a bishop by moving it one square to a long diagonal; specifically, a set of opening moves where a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent knight file.


fianchetto

en-verb

fianchetto (third-person singular simple present fianchettos or fianchettoes, present participle fianchettoing, simple past and past participle fianchettoed)

fianchettos (present singular third-person)
fianchettoes (present singular third-person)
fianchettoing (participle present)
fianchettoed (participle past)
fianchettoed (past)

/fɪənˈt͡ʃɛtəʊ/

/fɪənˈkɛtəʊ/