General chess terms
Every general term, defined and illustrated.
- General
Center
The center in chess refers to the four central squares of the board — e4, d4, e5, and d5 — as well as the surrounding squares that form what is known as the extended center (c3, c4, c5, c6, d3, d6, e3, e6, f3, f4, f5, f6).
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Chessboard
The chessboard is the playing surface on which a chess game takes place: it consists of 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid, with alternating light and dark squares.
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Diagonal
A diagonal in chess is a line of same colored squares running at an angle across the board, along which bishops and queens move.
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FEN
FEN (Forsyth Edwards Notation) is a standardized text format that describes a complete chess position in a single line of text.
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File
A file is a vertical line on the chessboard, connecting all squares that share the same letter from rank 1 to rank 8.
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Flank
In chess, the flank refers to either of the two lateral halves of the board: the kingside (files e through h) or the queenside (files a through d).
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Kingside
The kingside refers to the right half of the chessboard from White’s perspective — the f, g, and h files (and often the e file depending on context) — the side where the white king starts the game and where the short castle (O O) shelters it behind a pawn barrier.
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Move
A move in chess is the action of transferring a piece from one square to another according to the rules of the game, making it the fundamental unit of every chess game.
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Online rapid
Online rapid chess is a format played on the internet with a time control typically ranging from 10 to 30 minutes per player for the entire game.
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PGN
PGN (Portable Game Notation) is a standardized text format used to record and share chess games, capturing both the moves played and key game information such as players' names, date, and result.
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Post-mortem analysis
Post mortem analysis is the critical review of a chess game carried out after it has ended, with the goal of identifying mistakes, missed opportunities, and key turning points.
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Queenside
The queenside refers to the left half of the chessboard from White’s perspective, covering the a, b, c, and d files — the side where the queen starts the game.
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Rank
A rank, in chess, is a horizontal row of the chessboard, consisting of eight squares running from left to right.
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Time trouble
Time trouble refers to the critical situation where a player is running dangerously low on the clock, to the point where time management becomes as decisive as the quality of the moves played.
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Turn to move
"Having the move" — in French, le trait — means it is your turn to move a piece on the board.