lichess.org
Donate

ABC of chess

pafchess23 viewsEnglish (US)
ChessOpeningEndgameStrategy
This is my list of the most central terms for chess beginners and amateurs, going from A to Z. Enjoy reading! Please don't hesitate to share your opinion in the comments and to help me with the French terms marked with "???".

For learning more about these terms, I can really recommend reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_chess (page consulted on 28th July 2023) and the corresponding sections in Wikipedia (also in other languages) or on other sites explaining the terms in more detail. In order to make a comparison and, in particular, to help people who learn German and French, I added the translations into these languages.

ENGLISHGERMANFRENCH
to abandonaufgebenabandonner
Backrank (1st/8th rank on the board, used for mate traps on beginners)die Grundreihela rangée de base (???)
Bishopder Läuferle fou (meaning "crazy" if used as an adjective :D)
Castling (king changes place with a rook)die Rochadele roque
Check vs. (check)matedas Schach vs. das (Schach)mattl'échec (m). vs. (échec et) mat (m.)
Drawdas Remisla (partie) nulle
Endgamedas Endspiella finale
Fool's Mate (one of the mates beginnrs often fall for)das Narrenmattle mat de l'imbécile, du lion...
Gambitdas Gambitle gambit
hanging (unprotected)hängenden prise
Increment (time added after each move, e. g., 30+20 means 30 minutes for the whole game plus 20 seconds per move)das Inkrementl'incrément (m.)
Italian Game (very popular opening, good for BEGINNERS to start with)die italienische Eröffnungla partie italienne
"J'adoube" (say it over the board before putting a piece in the right position, without wanting to move it)"J'adoube""J'adoube"
Kingder Königle roi
Knightder Springer (literally "jumper", conveys its way of moving quite well)le cavalier
Luft (making a hole for the king, e.g. h3)das Luftlochla case d'échappement (???)
Major/minor piece (rooks and queens vs. knights and bishops)die Schwer-/Leichtfigurla pièce majeure/mineure
Notation (way of writing down game moves)die Notationla notation
Opening (the first 10-20 moves - think of the GOLDEN RULES!)die Eröffnungl'ouverture (f.)
Pawnder Bauerle pion
Promotion (pawn that reaches the opponent's backrank promotes into a queen)die Umwandlungla promotion
Queen (most powerful piece in chess!)die Dame(, die Königin)la dame(, la reine)
Rookder Turmla tour
Stalemate (king is not in check, opponent doesn't have any legal move left --> draw)das Pattle pat
Time control (ADVICE for beginners: use something like 30+20 or 45+0 and really take your time)die Bedenkzeitla cadence
Underpromotion (cf. promotion, but you choose a rook, knight or bishop instead of a queen, which sometimes makes sense)die Unterverwandlungla sous-promotion
Variation board (chess board you can use for analysis after playing or when not playing)der Analysebrettl'échiquier (m.) d'analyse
Wing (kingside vs. queenside)der Flügel (Königs- vs. Damenflügel)l'aile (f., aile roi vs. aile dame)
X-rayder Röntgenangriffl'attaque (f.) "rayons X"
Zeitnot (lack of time)die Zeitnotle zeitnot
Zwischenzug (in-between move, i. e. move enabling you to make the move you intended to)der Zwischenzugle zwischenzug
Zugzwang (the fact that you have to move worsens your position)der Zugzwangle zugzwang
Discuss this blog post in the forum

More blog posts by pafchess

Der Respekt ist tot???

Ein schlechter Scherz? Oder traurig, aber wahr? Vor ein paar Tagen fand ich auf meiner Lieblingsseit…

The future of lichess - make love, not war!

In the last months, I remarked that some topics in the "off-topic"-area cause emotional discussions:…

Die Zukunft von lichess - make love, not war!

In den letzten Monaten fiel mir auf, dass einige Themen im "Off-Topic"-Bereich für emotionale Diskus…

Conseil pour les débutants : gérer votre temps *avant* une partie ?

D'abord, cela semble sonner un peu bizarre, mais je vous recommande de réfléchir à l'avance à la man…