Chess Move Terminology

Here are some terminologies of different chess moves that I found on Wikipedia. (the worlds most reliable source :) For our group presentation, not meaning to give anything away, we are incorporating the game of chess into our project, so I found these to be somewhat useful.

A

• Actual play - see post-key play.
• Albino - a problem in which, at some point in the solution, a white pawn on its starting square makes each of its four possible moves (forward one square, forward two squares, capture to the left, capture to the right). If the same behaviour is exhibited by a black pawn, it is a Pickaninny.
• Allumwandlung - a problem in which the solution includes pawn promotions to all possible pieces (in orthodox chess, to bishop, knight, rook and queen; in fairy chess, possibly to fairy pieces).
• Anti-Bristol - the interference of one black piece by another like-moving one on the same line (if the pieces are on different lines, it is a Holzhausen).
• Anticipation - if the theme and setting of a particular problem has already appeared in an earlier problem without the knowledge of the later composer, the problem is said to be anticipated. The position does not have to be exactly the same, just very similar. Where this is done deliberately by the later composer, the term plagiarised is used. There is a real chance of anticipation if the problem has a relatively simple theme, since there are only a finite number of positions and themes, and chess problems have been composed for hundreds of years. However, anticipations are not always noticed immediately.
• Aristocrat - a problem which has no pawns in the initial position.

B

• Babson task - a problem in which black promotion defences to all possible pieces are answered by white promotions to the same piece black has promoted to. An extreme form of Allumwandlung.
• Battery - a pair of pieces, where the front piece moves away to discover an attack from the back piece. For example, if a White knight stands between a White rook and the Black king, moving the knight - that is, "firing" the battery - leads to check.
• Block - a problem in which the key provides no threat, but instead puts black in a position of zugzwang, where every move leads to a mate. In a complete block, all of black's moves have mates provided in the set play and the key is simply a waiting move; in an incomplete block, not all black moves are provided with mates in the set play - the key provides for those that don't; in a mutate some of the mates provided in the set play are changed following the key.
• By-play - variations not directly connected to the problem's theme.

C

• Clearance - in general, the movement of one piece so that another can move to a particular square. In square vacation the first piece moves so that the second can occupy the square on which it stood; in line vacation the first piece moves so that the second can pass over the square on which is stood on the way to its destination; line clearance, also known as the Bristol, is a particular type of line vacation in which a piece moves along a line so that another piece can move a shorter distance behind it along the same line.
• Composition - A constructed position (as opposed to a position found in a game) serving as a Chess problem.
• Cook - a second key move, unintended by the composer. A cook is a serious flaw, and invalidates a problem. The publication of cooked problems was once common, but in the modern era computers can be used to check for cooks, and cooked problems are rarely published.
• Cylindrical board - a board in which the a and h-files are considered to be connected (a "vertical cylinder") or the first and eighth ranks are connected (a "horizontal cylinder"). A combination of the vertical and horizontal cylinders is called an "anchor ring".

D

• Directmate - a type of problem where white, moving first, is required to checkmate black in a specified number of moves against any defence. Such a problem is usually indicated by the stipulation "mate in two" (or however many moves is necessary) or "checkmate in two". The term directmate is useful to distinguish these sorts of problems from helpmates, selfmates, reflexmates and others.
• Domination - in studies, a situation whereby a piece has relatively wide freedom of movement but which nevertheless must be lost.
• Doubling - a manoeuvre in which two pieces are placed on the same line (rank, file or diagonal) such that they support each other. Special cases are Turton doubling and Zepler doubling.
• Dual - ideally, white should have only one move at each juncture which solves a problem - if white has an alternative at any stage other than the first move, this is a dual. A dual is not as serious a flaw as a cook, and in minor lines, duals may be permissible (opinions differ on this point). Some problems make a virtue out of dual avoidance - of two apparently equivalent white moves, only one works.
• Duplex - a type of problem in which there are two solutions, the second one reversing the roles of the colours in the first. The most common type is the duplex helpmate, in which the two solutions to be found are: black moves first and cooperates with white to be mated; and white moves first and cooperates with black to be mated.

E

• Economy - economy is generally regarded as a good thing in chess problem composition, though exactly what is meant by it, and exactly what it is most important to be economical with, is open to debate. Economy of material or force (not using more pieces than necessary), economy of space (using the chessboard to its fullest, not cramming all the pieces into one corner) and economy of motivation (keeping all lines in the solution relevant to the theme) are all regarded as important.
• Excelsior - a problem in which a pawn on its starting square in the initial position moves the length of the board to be promoted during the course of the solution. Named after one such problem by Sam Loyd; see Excelsior (chess problem).

F

• Fairy chess - chess played with non-orthodox rules. Examples are circe, maximummers, problems with unorthodox pieces (fairy pieces) and problems with unorthodox boards (such as cylindrical boards, or grid boards).
• Flight (square) - a square to which the black king can legally move (that is, one not guarded by a white piece, and not occupied by a black piece). If black plays a piece to one of these squares, thus decreasing the king's mobility, it is a self-block. If he moves a piece from one of these squares, it is square-vacation.

G

• Grid-board - a kind of board used in fairy chess which is divided into a grid of 16 2x2 squares. For a move to be legal, the moving piece must pass over at least one of these grid-lines.
• Grimshaw - a common device featuring two black pieces mutually interfering with each other on a single square.
• Grotesque - a problem or study with an especially unnatural initial position, particularly one with large amounts of material or with a large material disparity between the sides.

H

• Heavy - adjective applied to a problem which has a relatively large number of pieces in the initial position. Heaviness should be avoided where possible in the interests of economy.
• Helpmate - a type of problem where white and black cooperate to put black in mate within a specified number of moves. Unless otherwise specified, black moves first in helpmates. See also duplex.
• Holzhausen - the interference of one black piece by another like-moving one on a different line (if the pieces are on the same line, it is an anti-Bristol).

I

• Ideal mate - a pure mate in which all units of both colours take part in the mate.
• Interference - the closure of the line of one piece by a second piece, thus limiting its movement and cutting it off from certain squares. Various names are given to particular types of interference, among them Grimshaw, Novotny, anti-Bristol, Holzhausen, Würzburg-Plachutta and Plachutta.

K

• Key - the first move of a solution. A problem which unintentionally has more than one key is said to be cooked.

• Knight's tour - A chess problem where a knight on an empty board has to visit each square exactly once.

L

• Lacny - a theme in which defences a, b and c are answered by the mates A, B and C respectively in one phase of play and by B, C and A respectively in another.
• Light - adjective applied to a problem which has a relatively small number of pieces in the initial position. Lightness is usually desirable in the interests of economy.

M

• Maximummer - a problem in which black must make the geometrically longest moves available to him, as measured from square-centre to square-centre. If two or more longest moves of equal length are available, black may choose between them. This stipulation is most often attached to selfmates.
• Meredith - a problem with no less than eight and no more than twelve pieces on the board in the starting position. A problem with less than eight pieces is a miniature.
• Miniature - a problem with no more than seven pieces on the board in the initial position.
• Model mate - a pure mate in which all white units, with the possible exception of king and pawns, are involved in the mate. A particular feature of problems by members of the Bohemian School.
• More-mover - a directmate with the stipulation "white to move and checkmate black in no more than n moves against any defence" where n is greater than 3. In composition tourneys, there are often separate classes for more-movers, two-movers and three-movers (as well as classes for helpmates, selfmates and others).
• Motif - an element of a move in the consideration why the piece moves and how it supports the fulfillment of the problem stipulation.
• Mutate - a type of block problem in which at least one mate in the set play is changed following the key.

N

• Novotny - a sacrificed white piece can be taken by two differently-moving black pieces--whichever piece makes the capture, it interferes with the other. Essentially a Grimshaw brought about by a white sacrifice on the critical square.

P

• Phase - play after the key, after tries and set play each constitutes a phase of play. A problem with set play is said to have two phases (the set play being one phase, the post-key play being another); a problem with three tries would be a four phase problem (each try being one phase, with the post-key play the fourth). Play in different phases will sometimes relate to each other.
• Pickaninny - a problem in which, at some point in the solution, a black pawn on its starting square makes each of its four possible moves (forward one square, forward two squares, capture to the left and capture to the right). If the same behaviour is exhibited by a white pawn, it is an albino. (The term is also a largely archaic derogatory racial term, referring to small black children.)
• Plachutta - a sacrificed white piece can be taken by two similarly-moving black pieces--whichever piece makes the capture, it interferes with the other. Essentially a pair of Holzhausen interferences (or a Wurzburg-Plachutta interference) brought about by a white sacrifice on the critical square.
• Post-key play - the play following the key, that is, the lines of play which fulfill the stipulation of the problem. This is opposed to set play and virtual play (both of which may also be important elements in the attractiveness of a problem).
• Proof game - a type of problem in which the job of the solver is to construct a game of a given number of moves in which the final position is the one given by the composer. A kind of retrograde analysis.
• Pure mate - a mating position in which the mated king and all vacant squares in its field are attacked only once, and squares in the king's field occupied by friendly units are not also attacked by the mating side (unless such a unit is necessarily pinned to the king to avoid it interposing to block the check).

R

• Reflexmate - a selfmate in which both sides must deliver checkmate if they are able to do when it is their move. A problem where this stipulation applies only to black is a semi-reflexmate.
• Retrograde analysis, retroanalysis - deduction of the move or moves leading up to a given position. A problem may be completely made up of retrograde analysis (as in a proof game, or a problem in which the task is to determine black's last move, for example), or it may be a part of some larger problem (for example, it may be necessary to determine that black has moved his king leading up to a given position, meaning he is unable to castle, and thus rendering correct a solution which would be otherwise incorrect).
• Round trip - a piece leaves a square, and then later in the solution returns to it by a circuitous route (for example, a rook moves e3-g3-g5-e5-e3). Compare with switchback, in which the route taken to the original square is direct.

S

• S - in algebraic chess notation, the letter N is usually used to indicate the knight. In chess problems, however, the letter S (standing for Springer, the German name for the knight) is often used instead, with N instead being reserved for the popular fairy piece, the nightrider.
• Selfmate - a type of problem where white forces black to mate him against black's will within a specified number of moves.
• Seriesmover - a problem in which one side makes a series of moves without reply.
• Set play - play which is possible from the initial position of a problem if the other player moves first. For example, in a directmate, set play consists of lines of play starting with a black move (rather than a white move). When set play exists, the key move may be something which does not change the set play lines, in which case the problem is a complete block, or the lines in the set play may change, in which case the problem is a mutate. Set play is one phase of play.
• Solus rex (or Rex solus) - When either color (though usually black) has only their King piece left.^[1] The term is derived from Latin and literally means "lone king."^[2]
• Switchback - a piece leaves a square, and then later in the solution returns to it by the same route (for example, a rook moves e3-e5-e3). Compare with round trip, in which the route taken back to the original square is circuitous.

T

• Task - a highly unusual or bizarre theme, e.g. Babson-task or Valladao-task.
• Theme - the underlying idea of a problem, which gives it logic, coherence and beauty.
• Threat - a move or variation which white will play (usually following his key) if black does nothing to defend against it. Problems which do not have threats following the key are blocks.
• Three-mover - a problem with the stipulation "white to move and checkmate black in no more than three moves against any defence". In composition tourneys, there are often separate classes for three-movers, two-movers and more-movers (as well as classes for helpmates, selfmates and others).
• Try - a move which almost solves a problem, but is defeated by a single black defence, as opposed to the key (which actually does solve the problem). Variations after tries are called virtual play and may be an important part of what makes some problems pleasing.
• Turton doubling - a kind of doubling in which one piece moves along a line allowing a second to move onto the same line in front of it; this second piece then moves in the opposite direction to the first. Named after Henry Turton. Compare with Zepler doubling.
• Twin - two or more problems which are slight variations on each other, composed by the same person. The variation is usually brought about by adding, removing or moving a piece in the initial setup.
• Two-mover - a problem with the stipulation "white to move and checkmate black in two moves against any defence". In composition tourneys, there are often separate classes for two-movers, three-movers and more-movers (as well as classes for helpmates, selfmates and others).

V

• Version - said of a problem which is an adaptation of an earlier one (it may have been altered to improve its economy or to eliminate a cook).
• Virtual play - the play following a try, as opposed to set play and post-key play.

W

• Wurzburg-Plachutta - mutual interference between two like-moving black pieces on different lines; essentially a pair of Holzhausen interferences where piece A interferes with pieces B in one variation, and piece B interferes with piece A in another. If the interference is brought about by a white sacrifice on the critical square, it is a Plachutta.

Z

• Zepler doubling - a kind of doubling in which one piece moves along a line allowing a second to move onto the same line behind it; the first piece then moves again in the same direction as before. Named after Erich Zepler. Compare with Turton doubling.

Pale Fire Top Ten Quotes?

1. "Let me state that without my notes Shade's text simply has no human reality at all since the human reality of such a poem as his (being too skittish and reticent for an autobiographical work), with the omission of many pithy lines carelessly rejected by him, has to depend entirely on the reality of its author and his surroundings, attachments and so forth, a reality that only my notes can provide." pg 28-29

2. "My name was mentioned twice, as usual just behind (one oozy footstep) Frost.

3. ".a morocco-bound album in which the Judge had lovingly pasted the life histories and pictures of people he had sent to prison or condemned to death: unforgettable faced of imbecile hoodlums. the close-set merciless eyes of a homicidal maniac (somewhat resembling, I admit, the late Jacques d'Argus)."

4. ".'reality' is neither the subject nor the object of true art which creates its own special reality having nothing to do with the average 'reality' perceived by the communal eye."

5. "I have staggered the notes referring to him in such a fashion that the first. is the vaguest while those that follow become gradually clearer as gradual Gradus approaches in space and time."

6. "happily, Prof. Botkin, who taught in another department, was not subordinated to that grotesque 'perfectionist'"

7. "But then it is also true that Hazel Shade resembled me in certain respects."

8. "One should not apply it to a person who deliberately peels off a drab and unhappy past and replaces it with a brilliant invention. That's merely turning a new leaf with the left hand."

9. "My commentary to this poem, now in the hands of my readers, represents an attempt to sort out those echoes and wavelets of fire, and pale phosphorescent hints, and all the many subliminal debts to me."

10. "Thus with cautious steps, among deceived enemies, I circulated, plated with poetry, armored with rhymes, stout with another man's song, stiff with cardboard, bullet-proof at long last."

Quotes:

From Speak Memory: pg 19.

"The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness."

This quote was moving because it implies the brevity of life. The other day, my sister came up to me and began to cry. At first she said that she did not want to talk about it, but after she could see my concern she spoke up. She exclaimed how her birthday was coming up and she would soon be a quarter of a century year old. (which most people would think of as very young) I laughed and thought she was kidding but then she continued. She brought up the idea of the world without her, which to me seemed like a very Nabokovian statement. She began to talk about how there was a time where she did not exist, and did not have the brain power to think, and to her that thought was extremely scary. She continued to say that this same feeling of darkness that would inevitably find her at the end of her life was the most scary thing she could imagine. A quarter of her life had passed. She felt as though she had not accomplished much. She exclaimed how bizarre it is that our father is dead, and how we always think about him, but how he is unable to think. And because our dad can not think because he no longer exists, then how does he still exist inside of us. After she got into these details, I told her to cool her jets and I told her that she is thinking too hard about what she is thinking about. This type of metacognition was not something I needed to deal with at 9:30 in the morning, on a sunday, when I was trying to drink coffee and watch some reality TV show. But she did not stop. She continued to talk about how thinking about our dead father and her getting older made he think about the day she dies. How at one instant, her brain would shut off, and she would not be able to think anymore. How could she have a body where the brain is able to shut off whenever it wants? She felt vulnerable. That nothing was in her controll because she could not controll when it is her time to die. I felt bad for her. Anyways. After thinking about this conversation, I realized how much Nabokov would probably appreciate it because of the quote listed above, but also the picture of the baby carriage. It is scary to imagine a world that we will not exist in some day, or the world that existed before us. It is remarkable how time will never end, nor did it ever start, and if anything our lives are just a quick light blink, between two eternities of darkness.

Nabokovian Photo Commentary

This Photograph, taken in 2009 around the end of June in Lander, Wyoming by Charles, is a self portrait showing the mood of which a person might be in after having a rather unusual afternoon. The mirror reflecting the photograph was made from wood taken apart from an old sheep wagon found on the cabin's surrounding property, and the cabin itself was taken apart and rebuilt in the location it sits today. Formerly, this cabin sat 10 miles south of Lander, Wyoming and was a stage coach stop where people such as Billy the Kid had made brief stops. The large logs that this restroom, which the picture was taken in, were made of old railwood ties, where if you look closely one is able to still see old rusty nails that could not have been removed. The pictures hanging which are seen in the mirrors reflection were portraits of the girls mother's family. The women are all wearing rather tight dresses that bell out at the bottom and the photograph of women in bathing suits shows a time period where suits covered most of the body. What one may not know, the ground of which the two are standing on was made completely of rocks found on the property where the cabin sits, and on those rocks were two mousetraps, both occupied.

My Earliest Memory:

It took me a rather long time to distinguish the different time periods of which my childhood memories took place. I began to place my different memories into categories. I lived in one house until I was 9 years old, so I know that any memory from that particular house took place when I was younger. During those nine years, different circumstances took place that have made my memories even easier to categorize. If I remember a time when my parents drove VW vans, then this would mean I was younger than 7. If I can think of memories that occurred during a time where wheelchairs were not present, my mother and father both going to on runs in the morning, and a time with absolutely no one in the house (including nurses, nannys, babysitters etc) except for my parents, then this would mean that these memories took place before I was four years old.

Every once in a while, while thumbing through my childhood picturebooks, I get these bizarre flashbacks where it almost seems as though I can remember those exact instances when the pictures were taken. However, when I think really hard, one memory stands out stronger than the rest, and seems more vibrant. Because there are not any pictures representing this particular day, I know that this image in my head rests solely on my own memory.

It was my mom's 39th birthday, which means that I was 3 years old. My mom's Bday was also close to my parents 5th wedding aniversary, so my father was planning something really special for her. A week before her birthday, my dad brought all the kids around him, (my brother, sister and I) and we sat in the hallway next to the kitchen. He had this flat, black box that was really soft, (I know now this softness was velvet) When he opened it up, there was a really pretty, sparkly necklace and set of earrings. My sister and I were mezmorised. I dont think that either one of us had ever seen so many sparkly clear stones at one time, and my dad asked us if we wanted to try it all on to see if we thought mom would like them! This was very exciting stuff for Britney and I. My brother Cade could care less, but as soon as dad told him that he was taking mom on a helicopter ride and that Cade could watch them take off, Cade also joined in on the excitement.

Now I would not have been able to remember that incident in the hall way if it was not for what happened the following week, the same night when dad and mom would go away on their little excursion for her birthday suprise. The parents had left and were going up the coast for a romantic flight/dinner, and the three kids were left with a really annoying babysitter. I remember she was old, smelled like moth balls, and had really bad breath (so I never wanted her to read to us). It was pretty late at night, and the sitter told us that we had to brush our teeth and get ready for bed, but that was not something that I wanted to do. I remember throwing a really big fit because I wanted to eat ANOTHER popsicle. The sitter said absolutely not, so I decided to play my favorite game with her... Hide and seek... I sprinted away from her old, "unable to run legs" and hid under a great big chair in my parents room.

A few hours had gone by and I must have fallen asleep. Because the next thing I remembered was being carried down our spiral staircase and seeing my mom crying with excitement at the bottom of the stairs. The baby sitter was not there. I do remember, however, that my dad gave me a popsicle.

I dont remember anything that happened while I was under the chair. Obviously. I just remember the police officer carrying me to my parents. Turns out, the babysitter could not find me. She had insisted that I ran away from home, and might have accidentaly ran across the street to the beach. In those few hours that I was sleeping, the police were called, a search party took place, and my parents were contacted at their restaurant to leave and come home immediately. It is funny, how so much can take place, but being a child you seem to be so much more oblivious to everything else surrounding you. I remember my crappy babysitter, not being able to have my popsicle, and the trip down the stairs. And after reviewing my memory theatre for my earliest memory, I can honestly say that I think that week, my mothers birthday week, was when this first memory became implanted within me forever.