Glossary

1. Castling (Roque): A special move that involves the king and one of the rooks. The king moves two squares towards the rook, and the rook moves to the square next to the king on the opposite side.

2. Check (échec): When the king is attacked.

3. Checkmate (échec et mat): When the king is attacked and can't escape.

4. Deflection: A tactic in which a defensive piece is lured away from its defensive duties, allowing an attacking piece to exploit the resulting weakness.

5. Draw (nulle): When neither player wins. There are several ways a draw can occur, including stalemate, insufficient material to checkmate, threefold repetition, or a draw agreement.

6. Endgame (Fin de partie): The final phase of the game with fewer pieces on the board, where players focus on achieving checkmate or promoting pawns to win.

7. En Passant: A special pawn capture that can occur when a pawn moves two squares forward from its starting position and lands next to an opponent's pawn.

8. Premove (prémouvement): In online chess matches, preselecting a piece to move automatically before the opponent makes a move.

9. En prise: A piece that is not protected and can be taken without facing any negative outcomes.

10. Increment: Additional time provided after making a move. For instance, a 5-second increment signifies that the player receives 5 seconds extra after executing their move.

11. Fork (Fourchette): A piece that simultaneously attacks two or more pieces.

12. Middle Game (milieu de partie): The stage of the game that follows the opening, characterized by piece maneuvering, tactical combinations, and planning for the endgame.

13. Opening (ouverture): The initial phase of the game where players develop their pieces and control the center of the board.

14. Pin (Clouage): A tactic in which an attacking piece exerts pressure on an opponent's piece, which cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece (often the king) behind it.

15. Promotion: When a pawn reaches the opposite end of the board, it can be promoted to a queen, a rook, a bishop or a knight of the same color.

16. Skewer (Enfiliade): A tactic in which a more valuable piece is attacked and forced to move, exposing a less valuable piece behind it.

17. Stalemate (Pat): A situation in which the player to move has no legal moves, and their king is not in check. The game ends in a draw.

18. Theory: A predefined sequence of moves.

19. Time Control: The rules that govern the amount of time each player has to make their moves during a game.

20. Zwischenzug: An unexpected intermediate move, often a counterattack, before responding to their opponent's expected move. This can allow the player to gains time or material.

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