home
Menu
Create
Random
0
0
0

Chess Terminology

Can you identify the following chess-related words?
Quiz by ThirdParty
Rate:
Last updated: June 24, 2013
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
More quiz info >>
First submittedJune 24, 2013
Times taken2,964
Average score50.0%
Rating3.85
Report this quizReport
Quiz and answer stats >>
Friends stats >>
4:00
Enter words here:
0
 / 24 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Definition
Language
Answer
A king of Persia
Persian
shah
To attack the enemy King
from Persian
check
To end the game by making an unstoppable attack against the enemy King
from Persian
checkmate
A type of move involving both the King and the Rook
English
castling
A type of move in which a pawn is converted into some other piece
English
promotion
A type of move in which a pawn moving two squares is captured as though it moved only one
French
en passant
A draw resulting from the active player having no legal moves
English
stalemate
Direction in which Bishops move
English
diagonally
Direction in which Rooks move
English
orthogonally
To intentionally give up material to further an attack
English
sacrifice
To intentionally give up a pawn in the opening, in exchange for better position
from Italian
gambit
The placement of a Bishop on the long diagonal, in front of the Knight's initial position
Italian
fianchetto
Definition
Language
Answer
To attack two pieces simultaneously with one piece
English
fork
To attack a piece such that if it moved, a more valuable piece would be exposed
English
pin
To attack a piece such that when it moves, a less valuable piece will be exposed
English
skewer
An attack by one piece, created by moving a different piece
English
discovered attack
A draw which a player forces by making an endless series of attacks against the enemy King
English
perpetual check
A pawn which cannot be stopped by any enemy pawns
English
passed pawn
Spoken phrase used to indicate that the player is adjusting a piece, not moving it
French
j'adoube
To comment on a game before it has ended, in hearing of the players
Yiddish
kibitz
A situation in which a player's position will be worsened by any legal move
German
zugswang
The most popular Chess set design, named after 1843 Chess champion
English surname
Staunton
Original name of the Chess vairant which is now standard (hint: it strengthened a piece)
English
Mad Queen Chess
The Goddess of Chess
Latin
Caïssa
Your Next Quiz
• Places on a Risk Board
• Most Popular Board Games Quiz
• Scrabble Words From JETPUNK
• Do You Even Chess?
24 Comments
maxd98
+1
Level 39
Nov 7, 2013
I love chess and I still don't know some of these!
ZacG
+1
Level 58
Dec 7, 2013
why is heskey not accepted?
sumguy
+1
Level 86
Oct 5, 2017
I Googled it, and I have no idea what "heskey" is.
rorybathg8
+2
Level 33
May 3, 2021
he's an english football player known for missing shots and became a meme
willandhisafro
+1
Level 61
Jan 30, 2015
Could queening or promoting being accepted for promotion?
sumguy
+3
Level 86
Oct 5, 2017
Not "queening"; no real chess player calls it that. A pawn doesn't automatically promote to a queen, though there is almost never a reason to promote to anything else. (Sometimes promoting to a knight is the best move, for its ability to deliver check over defending pieces)
sergeantmalice
+5
Level 56
Jun 23, 2019
Several grandmasters call it queening lol
evilcheeser
+1
Level 75
Sep 26, 2023
Not unless they're making a queen...
Elan
+8
Level 66
Oct 15, 2015
You must accept other type-ins for orthogonally. That is just ridiculous. I'm sure everyone who took this quiz knew how a rook moves but couldn't think of the specific fancy word you wanted
sumguy
+3
Level 86
Oct 5, 2017
Nope, that's the only word that covers both horizontal and vertical. All chess players should have learned it in their first chess book.
sergeantmalice
+6
Level 56
Jan 22, 2019
What if they didn't learn chess in English?
rocamorar
+1
Level 78
Sep 26, 2023
Good point. We should accept orthogonalement (French), orthogonal (German), ortogonalment (Catalan), ortogonalmente (Italian), ortogonalno (Serbian), ortogoniškai (Lithuanian), orthogonaliter (Latin), and ορθογώνια (Greek). Because clearly, no speakers of those languages will have any idea of how to say that in English.
sumguy
+4
Level 86
Sep 26, 2023
It's an English quiz.
chillid4
+2
Level 59
Sep 27, 2023
Perpendicular should be accepted as an alternative answer here. They're synonymous in the context of rook movement
supermoose7115
+1
Level 45
Mar 13, 2025
I have never heard a single person ever use that word when talking about chess, and I got most of these right
XYU
+3
Level 62
Sep 26, 2023
Agreed, "Straight" should be fine.
sumguy
+3
Level 86
Sep 26, 2023
Diagonal moves are also straight lines. Really, "straight" would describe the way all pieces move, except for knights.
sumguy
+3
Level 86
Oct 5, 2017
Great quiz! I've never heard of "The Goddess of Chess" or "Caissa" before, though, so 23/24. You misspelled "variant" in the clue for Mad Queen Chess.
geographyguy
+1
Level 26
Jun 18, 2022
My chess club is named after the Goddess so I knew it!
sumguy
+2
Level 86
Sep 26, 2023
"variant" is still misspelled.
NQChien
+7
Level 67
Aug 7, 2018
Zugswang? I though Zugzwang is correct.
Fianchetto
+3
Level 77
Feb 17, 2023
Glad to see my username finally pops up in a quiz.

And variant is misspelled.

Bletsch
+3
Level 70
Jul 18, 2023
Zugzwang is misspelt.
Dollyfroggy
+2
Level 63
Sep 26, 2023
What does shah have to do with chess?
Save Your Progress
Similar Quizzes by Tag
Copyright H Brothers Inc, 2008–2025
Contact Us | Go To Top | View Mobile Site