Chess Terminology (P)

Chess Terms Starting With "P"

Passive: A piece that is able to move to or control relatively few squares. See also active.

Passed pawn: A pawn that has no pawn of the opposite color on its file or on any adjacent files on its way to queening.

Patzer: A weak chess player. (German: patzen, to bungle.)

Pawn: The pawn (♙♟) is the weakest and most numerous piece in the game of chess, representing infantry, or more particularly pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the second rank from the view of the player. In algebraic notation the white pawns start on a2, b2, c2, ..., h2, while the black pawns start on a7, b7, c7, ..., h7.

Pawn chain: A locked diagonal formation of pawns, each one supported by a friendly pawn diagonally behind and blocked by an enemy pawn directly ahead. Nimzovich considered pawn chains extensively, and recommended attacking the enemy pawn chain at its base -- as in the Advance variation of the French defence 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5. See pawn structure.

Pawn island: A group of pawns of one color on consecutive files with no other pawns of the same color on any adjacent files. A pawn island consisting of one pawn is called an isolated pawn.

Pawn storm: An attacking technique where a group of pawns on one wing is advanced in order to break up the defense.

Pawn structure: Pawns being the least mobile of the pieces and the only pieces unable to move backwards, the position of the pawns influences the character of the game. The placement of the pawns is known as the pawn structure.
Perpetual check: A draw forced by one player putting the opponent's king in a potentially endless series of checks.

Piece: This term can mean either any chess piece including pawns (as in the touched piece rule), or a minor piece (as in "I hung a piece"), depending on context. It can also mean a major or minor piece, as in "White needs to get some pieces to the kingside".

Pin: When a piece can not move because doing so would expose a valuable piece, usually the king or queen, to attack. Pins against the king are called absolute because it is then illegal to move the pinned piece.

Plan: A strategy used by a chess player to make optimal use of his advantages in a specific position while minimizing the impact of his positional disadvantages.

Poisoned Pawn: An unprotected pawn which, if captured, causes positional problems or material loss. It is also a variation of the Sicilian Defense, where some players call White's pawn on b2 a poisoned pawn.

Positional play: Play dominated more by long-term maneuvering for advantage than by short-term attacks and threats, and requiring judgment more than extensive calculation of variations, as distinguished from tactics.

Promotion: Advancing a pawn to the eighth rank, converting it to a queen, rook, bishop or knight. Promotion to a piece other than a queen is called underpromotion.

Prophylaxis: (adjectival form: prophylactic) a move that frustrates an opponent's plan or tactic; a strategy in which a player frustrates tactics initiated by the opponent until a mistake is made.

Protected passed pawn: A passed pawn that is supported by another pawn.

Push: To move a pawn forward.

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