Chess lingo starting with an “O”
Have you just started chess? You thought all it took was to learn how the pieces move and you would be on your way to become a grandmaster? Well, you could not have been more mistaken. All the professional players of chess have not
reached that level of skill simply by practicing the art. A thorough understanding of the game that leads to the almost flawless play can only be developed by studying chess comprehensively. There are numerous literatures available on the subject which has
become indispensable to master, if one plans to reach a competitive level. Even if you are not seeking to be a professional chess player, a study of chess would help you to improve your skill considerably. However, you will not be able to understand the theory
if you are not familiar with the terms. Therefore, the first step as a beginner would be to get acquainted with the chess terminologies so that you do not encounter any problem later on in your journey. In this article, we will be discussing the important
“O” terminologies so that it is easy for you to understand and remember them. Here they come!
Let’s start at the beginning. Chess is divided into three stages. The first part, which is the Opening game, is of relevance to us. The opening game usually comprises 10 to 20 moves and precedes the middlegame. The players utilize
the moves in the opening game to create a strong position for themselves. This is typically done by setting up pawn structures, castling the king and developing other pieces. As opposed to the opening game, there is an Open game. As the name suggests, this
sort of game offers increased mobility to the pieces because the files or columns and the ranks or rows are mostly unoccupied. Open games result when exchanges have taken place in the middlegame, making the chess board less crowded. Similarly, an Open file
is that in which there are no pawns. In contrast to this, if one of the players has pawns on the file, it would be referred to as a half-open file.
There are many more variations of the term ‘Open’. A popular form of chess tournament is the Open tournament. It is called open because there is no restriction to entry in terms of rating or invitation. Another related term is called
the Opening preparation. This is the process of doing homework on how to make the best opening or how to respond to the opening of the opponent. Leaving the ‘Open’ terms aside, lets move on to more interesting ones. There is a term known as the Optimal play.
As is apparent, optimal play is seen when both the players are playing at their best. Usually, one player is looking for ending the game in a short period of time. This player will therefore, make attacking moves. The other player, on the other hand, tries
to increase the duration of the game. Her play will primarily be based on defensive moves. As both the players are making the best possible moves and are aiming for different ends, such play more often than not, results in a draw. Opposition is a situation
which comes into play particularly in the endgame. This happens when there is only a space of one square between the white and black king. The player who has to move her king first, usually suffers a disadvantage as the new position of the king is often weak.
A player can gain an advantage by establishing an Outpost. This is a square which is occupied by a pawn near the opponent’s side of the board. They serve a key strategic purpose when an attack is intended to be launched.
With that, we come to the end of the article. After going through this, you should be able to develop a deeper understanding of the many twists and turns of chess.
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