Reference
Glossary of terms.
A short, plain-language glossary of the words that come up around the board. Learn a few and any lesson reads a little easier.
- Opening
- The first phase of a game, where players develop their pieces and stake out the board before the real fighting begins.
- Midgame
- The heart of the game, once pieces are developed and plans collide — usually the richest and most complex phase.
- Endgame
- The final phase, with few pieces left, where precise technique and calculation decide the result.
- Tempo
- A single unit of time — one move. To 'gain a tempo' is to make progress while forcing your opponent to react.
- Zugzwang
- A position where any move a player makes only worsens their position — but they must move all the same.
- Fork
- A single piece attacking two or more enemy pieces at once, so the opponent cannot save them all.
- Pin
- When a piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece behind it, leaving it stuck in place.
- Gambit
- An opening in which a player offers material — usually a pawn — in return for faster development or attack.
- Material
- The total value of a player's pieces. Being 'up material' means holding more force than the opponent.
- Territory
- In Go, the empty points a player has surrounded and controls — the measure by which the game is scored.
- Notation
- A written system for recording moves, so any game can be replayed, shared, and studied later.
- Stalemate
- A position where a player has no legal move but is not in check — in chess, this ends the game as a draw.