Dictionary

pawn: The chess piece that can move forward one square or two on the first move. A pawn can move diagonally if it is capturing another piece.

pin: A chess tactic which forces on of the opponent’s pieces to stay put because moving it would expose a more valuable piece behind it.

promoted: Describes a situation in which a pawn reaches the eighth rank (the row closest to his opponent) and, therefore, the player gets to choose another piece (queen, knight, bishop or rook) to add to his board.

queen: One of the most powerful chess pieces, it has the ability to move any number of vacant squares diagonally, horizontally or vertically.

ranks: The horizontal rows of a chess board that are labeled with numbers 1 to 8.

rapid chess: A type of fast chess with 15-60 minutes per side.

rook: A chess piece that moves any number of empty squares vertically and horizontally. Rooks are also involved in castling.

skewer: A chess tactic in which one piece attacks two pieces in a line. It is similar to a pin, but the enemy piece is of greater value is in front of the piece of lesser value.

smothered mate: A checkmate delivered by a knight in which the mated king is unable to move because he is surrounded by his own pieces.