Tempo

Referenced by

• Advantage — An advantage is any lasting edge in material, position, or initiative that improves one player's chances of winning.
• Battery — A battery consists of two or more same-colour pieces aligned on a file, rank or diagonal, with the stronger piece behind, so the front unit can move to unleash the rear piece’s concentrated pressure.
• Battery Play — A battery consists of two or more same-color pieces aligned on a rank, file, or diagonal so the rear piece supports or attacks through the forward piece once it moves or captures.
• Bishop Of The Wrong Color — A bishop of the wrong color cannot control the promotion square of its passed pawn, typically allowing the defending king to draw a king-and-bishop versus king-and-rook-pawn ending by occupying the promotion corner.
• Clearance — Clearance is a tactical motif in which a piece moves aside to vacate a square or open a line for a more powerful piece—usually a rook or queen—often gaining tempo by delivering check or creating a threat.
• Crazyhouse — Crazyhouse is a chess variant in which captured pieces can immediately be dropped back onto the board as the capturer's own pieces, following standard movement rules.
• Defensive Wizard — A defensive wizard is a player exceptionally skilled at defending difficult positions, parrying attacks, and steering games toward draws or counterplay.
• Desperado — A desperado is a doomed piece that captures the highest-value enemy unit reachable before it is taken.
• Development — Development is the process of moving your pieces off their starting squares to active positions where they control more space and support your plans.
• Duck Chess — Duck Chess is a variant in which players alternate moving a shared, uncapturable duck to any empty square, where it blocks lines of attack and cannot be ignored.
• Initiative — The initiative in chess is the ability to create threats that force the opponent to respond, thereby dictating the pace and direction of play.
• Opening — The opening is the first phase of a chess game, usually the first 10–15 moves, in which players develop their pieces, fight for central control, and prepare their king’s safety.
• Opposition — Opposition occurs when two kings face each other on the same rank or file with one square between them, so that the player whose turn it is to move must give way and allow the opponent’s king to advance.
• Patzer Gives A Check — A patzer gives a check when a player delivers an unproductive check that hands the opponent a free tempo or improved position.
• Patzer Sees A Check — A patzer sees a check when a weak player plays a checking move at once, usually without considering whether it truly improves the position or simply shifts the opponent’s king to a better square.
• Pigs On The 7Th — Two rooks doubled on the opponent’s seventh rank, known as pigs on the seventh, create a powerful attacking formation that typically sweeps up pawns and generates decisive threats against the enemy king.
• Prophylaxis — Prophylaxis is the practice of making a quiet move that anticipates and neutralises an opponent’s intended plan or threat before it arises.
• Triangulation — In endgames, triangulation is a king maneuver along a three-square triangle that returns the king to its starting square after an odd number of moves, losing a tempo to place the opponent in zugzwang.
• Windmill — A windmill is a repeating tactical sequence in which a piece (typically a rook or queen) alternates discovered checks with its supporter to capture multiple enemy units on successive moves.
• Zugzwang — A position in which every legal move by the player to move worsens their standing, as passing is not permitted.
• Zwischenzug — A zwischenzug (German for "in-between move") is an unexpected forcing move such as a check or new threat inserted before the anticipated reply, compelling the opponent to respond first and often improving the outcome of the ensuing exchange.