Chess Terms Every Beginner Should Know
A friendly glossary of essential chess vocabulary, explained in plain language without any intimidation.
Published 2026-02-01 | Last verified 2026-02-12
Professor Archer says: The jargon of chess can feel like a foreign language, and I remember how alienating it was when I first encountered it. But here is the encouraging truth: you only need about twenty terms to follow any beginner conversation about chess. That is fewer words than you learned in your first week of any language class. You can do this.
The Pieces and the Board
Let us start with the most fundamental terms. The board is made up of files, ranks, and diagonals. Files are the vertical columns, labeled a through h from left to right. Ranks are the horizontal rows, numbered 1 through 8 from White's side. Diagonals are the slanted lines of same-colored squares. Every square on the board has a unique name combining its file letter and rank number, like e4 or g7.
The pieces are divided into major pieces and minor pieces. Major pieces are the queen and the rooks - they are called major because they can deliver checkmate on their own with the help of the king. Minor pieces are the bishops and knights, which are slightly less powerful but incredibly useful. Pawns are simply called pawns and are not classified as pieces in the traditional sense, though they are essential to every game.
You will also hear the term material, which simply means the total value of pieces you have on the board. If you capture your opponent's knight and they have not captured anything of yours, you are said to be "up material" or to have a "material advantage."
Check, Checkmate, and Stalemate
These three terms describe the most important moments in chess. Check means the king is under direct attack from an enemy piece. When you are in check, you must deal with it immediately - by moving the king, blocking the attack, or capturing the attacking piece. You cannot ignore check.
Checkmate is the goal of the game. It happens when the king is in check and there is absolutely no way to escape - no safe square to move to, no piece that can block, and no way to capture the attacker. When checkmate occurs, the game is over. The player who delivered checkmate wins.
Stalemate is a situation that surprises many beginners. It occurs when a player is not in check but has no legal move available. The result is a draw - neither player wins. This can be frustrating if you are ahead in material, because stalemate can accidentally save a losing player. Understanding stalemate helps you avoid accidentally letting a winning position slip into a draw, and it also gives you a lifeline when you are losing.
Common Tactical Terms
A tactic is a short sequence of moves that wins material or delivers checkmate. The most common tactic is a fork, where one piece attacks two enemy pieces at the same time. Knights are especially good at forks because of their unusual movement pattern. When a knight lands on a square that attacks both the king and the queen, it is called a royal fork - one of the most satisfying moves in chess.
A pin is when a piece cannot move because moving it would expose a more valuable piece behind it. For example, a bishop might attack a knight that is standing in front of the king - the knight is pinned because moving it would put the king in check. A skewer is the reverse: the more valuable piece is in front and must move, exposing the piece behind it to capture.
A discovered attack happens when you move one piece out of the way, revealing an attack from a piece behind it. If the revealed attack is a check, it is called a discovered check. These terms might sound complex now, but you will start recognizing them in your games very quickly once you know what to look for.
Positional and Strategic Terms
Beyond tactics, chess has a whole vocabulary for longer-term ideas. Development refers to moving your pieces from their starting squares to active positions where they control the board. Good development means getting your pieces into the game quickly and efficiently. An open file is a column with no pawns on it - rooks love open files because they can control them from top to bottom.
Castling is a special move where the king and a rook move simultaneously. It serves two purposes: it tucks the king into a safer position and brings the rook toward the center where it is more active. Tempo means a unit of time in chess - one move. If you waste a tempo by moving a piece somewhere and then moving it right back, you have lost time that your opponent can use productively.
Finally, you will hear people talk about the endgame, which is the phase of the game when most pieces have been exchanged and only a few remain. Endgames often revolve around trying to promote a pawn - getting it to the opposite end of the board so it can become a queen. Understanding even basic endgame ideas will win you many games that other beginners draw or lose.
Vocabulary Questions Beginners Ask
What does it mean when someone says "resign"?
Resigning means voluntarily conceding the game before checkmate. Players resign when they believe their position is hopeless and continuing would be pointless. As a beginner, you should rarely resign - play on and let your opponent prove they can finish the job. You might be surprised.
What is the difference between a blunder and a mistake?
Both are errors, but a blunder is a serious one that dramatically changes the evaluation of the position - like hanging a piece or missing a checkmate. A mistake is a lesser error that gives your opponent a smaller advantage. Everyone makes both, and they decrease with practice.
What does "notation" mean?
Notation is the system for writing down chess moves. Each piece has a letter (K for king, Q for queen, R for rook, B for bishop, N for knight) and each move records the piece and the square it moves to. For example, Nf3 means a knight moves to the f3 square. Pawns use only the square name, like e4.
What is a gambit?
A gambit is an opening where you deliberately sacrifice material, usually a pawn, to gain some other advantage like faster development, better piece activity, or an attack on the opponent's king. It is a calculated risk, not a reckless one.
Professor Archer says: Do not try to memorize this entire list. Bookmark this page and come back to it whenever you encounter a term you do not recognize. Within a few weeks of playing, most of these words will feel as natural as everyday English. Language follows experience - play first, and the vocabulary will stick.
Quick Quiz
What is the difference between checkmate and stalemate?
- They are the same thing - both end the game in a win - They are very different! Checkmate is a win for the attacking player, while stalemate is a draw where neither player wins.
- Checkmate means the king is in check with no escape; stalemate means no legal moves but the king is not in check (Correct) - Correct! In checkmate, the king is attacked and cannot escape. In stalemate, the player has no legal moves but is not in check, resulting in a draw.
- Stalemate is when both kings are in check at the same time - Both kings cannot be in check simultaneously - that would mean the previous move was illegal. Stalemate is when a player has no legal moves and is not in check.
- Checkmate only happens with a queen, stalemate can happen with any piece - Checkmate can be delivered by any piece, not just the queen. The distinction is about whether the king is in check, not which piece is involved.