In chess, a pin is a tactic in which a defending piece cannot move out of an attacking piece's line of attack without exposing a more valuable defending piece. Moving the attacking piece to effect the pin is called pinning; the defending piece restricted by the pin is described as pinned. Only a piece that can move any number of squares along a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line can pin. Any piece can be pinned except the king. The pin is one of the most powerful chess tactics.
Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check and has no legal move. Stalemate results in a draw. During the endgame, stalemate is a resource that can enable the player with the inferior position to draw the game rather than lose. In more complex positions, stalemate is much rarer, usually taking the form of a swindle that succeeds only if the superior side is inattentive. Stalemate is also a common theme in endgame studies and other chess problems.
The Bogo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The zwischenzug is a chess tactic in which a player, instead of playing the expected move, first interposes another move posing an immediate threat that the opponent must answer, and only then plays the expected move. It is a move that has a high degree of "initiative". Ideally, the zwischenzug changes the situation to the player's advantage, such as by gaining material or avoiding what would otherwise be a strong continuation for the opponent.
In chess, an X-ray or X-ray attack is a tactic where a piece indirectly controls a square from the other side of an intervening piece. Generally, a piece performing an X-ray either:
The Philidor Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The Budapest Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
The Danish Gambit, known as the Nordisches Gambit in German and the Noords Gambiet in Dutch, is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
The Lasker Trap is a chess opening trap in the Albin Countergambit. It is named after Emanuel Lasker, although it was first noted by Serafino Dubois. It is unusual in that it features an underpromotion as early as the seventh move.
The Queen's Gambit Declined is a chess opening in which Black declines a pawn offered by White in the Queen's Gambit:
The Magnus Smith Trap is a chess opening trap in the Sicilian Defence, named after three-time Canadian chess champion Magnus Smith (1869–1934). In an article titled "The 'Magnus Smith Trap'" published in his Chess Notes column, chess historian Edward Winter wrote:
We believe that 'Magnus Smith Trap' is a misnomer, although in the Sicilian Defence there is a 'Magnus Smith Variation'.
The Légal Trap or Blackburne Trap is a chess opening trap, characterized by a queen sacrifice followed by checkmate with minor pieces if Black accepts the sacrifice. The trap is named after the French player Sire de Légall. Joseph Henry Blackburne, a British master and one of the world's top five players in the latter part of the 19th century, set the trap on many occasions.
The Rubinstein Trap is a chess opening trap in the Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense. Black loses a pawn after Nxd5 due to the threat of his queen being trapped on the back rank by White's Bc7.
In chess, a fortress is an endgame drawing technique in which the side behind in material sets up a zone of protection that the opponent cannot penetrate. This might involve keeping the enemy king out of one's position, or a zone the enemy cannot force one out of. An elementary fortress is a theoretically drawn position with reduced material in which a passive defense will maintain the draw.
In chess, a desperado is a piece that is either en prise or trapped, but captures an enemy piece before it is itself captured in order to compensate the loss a little, or is used as a sacrifice that will result in stalemate if it is captured. The former case can arise in a situation where both sides have hanging pieces, in which case these pieces are used to win material prior to being captured. A desperado in the latter case is usually a rook or a queen; such a piece is sometimes also called crazy or mad.
In chess, the Cambridge Springs Defense is a variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined that begins with the moves:
The fourth World Chess Championship was held in Havana from 1 January to 28 February 1892. Defending champion William Steinitz narrowly defeated challenger Mikhail Chigorin.
In chess, several checkmate patterns occur frequently enough to have acquired specific names in chess commentary. By definition, a checkmate pattern is a recognizable/particular/studied arrangements of pieces that delivers checkmate. The diagrams that follow show these checkmates with White checkmating Black.
The World Chess Championship 2014 was a match between the world champion Magnus Carlsen and challenger Viswanathan Anand, to determine the World Chess Champion. It was held from 7 to 25 November 2014, under the auspices of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) in Sochi, Russia.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chess:
