Top 9 chess terms you need to know

In this post, I would like to share with you chess terms that will help you more easily express your thoughts about the game.

Bad bishop: A bishop that cannot move because its path is blocked by pawns is called a “bad bishop.” A “dark bishop,” on the other hand, is a bishop that moves on the dark squares. A dark bishop can be a good or a bad bishop, depending on the pawn situation (and your predilection for #BishopShaming).

Castling: This two-in-one maneuver lets you move your previously untouched king two squares toward a previously untouched rook and, during the same move, replace the rook on the king’s other side. If you’ve moved either one before, no castling for you.

Development: Regular people call this “moving your rooks, knights, bishops and queen out from the back row, so they can do stuff.” The opening moves of chess — like the gambit that sends a pawn out to clear the way for potential sacrifice and greater glory — are all about development.

Desperado: A desperado is a piece you sacrifice for the greater good. (Chess glossaries describe it as a piece “that seems determined to give itself up,” as if the inanimate object has agency in its fate.)

Fianchetto: This maneuver involves moving a knight pawn — the pawn directly in front of the knight — forward one or two spaces, then sending your freshly fianchettoed bishop out into the fray on its diagonal course.

Fingerfehler: The German word for “finger mistake,” a fingerfehler occurs when you accidentally touch the wrong piece or move it to the wrong spot. Sorry, buddy. You touched it. No backsies.

J’adoube: Say this French word — which means “I adjust” — when you want to adjust a piece on the board, not move it. Fail to say it, and it’s fingerfehlers for you.

Harry the H Pawn: Those long-ago jottings about P-QB4 and such began giving way to a simpler algebraic notation in the 1980s that turned the game board into a grid, with numbers running up the X axis and letters along the Y axis. When the game starts, your rooks occupy the A1 and H1 squares, for example. The eight pawns that fill the second row — A2, B2 and so on — were anonymous little guys, until some prominent chess players decided to name them when describing games on YouTube and in chess blogs. Now Harry the H Pawn awaits his marching orders from H2.

Living chess: Turns out wizard chess was not just a Hogwarts thing. It’s based on human or living chess, which sends costumed people — and sometimes actual horses — out on a giant chessboard to play the game. In Italy, a costumed human chess game is played every other year in the town of Marostica to commemorate the 1454 match that won a knight his lady fair. Apparently the bride’s father figured brains were better than brawn in a son-in-law.

Thank you for your attention!
Source: https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/01/11/10-delightfully-nerdy-chess-terms-you-need-to-know/