Basic Chess Vocabulary

Pawn

A chess piece of the smallest size and least value. Each player has eight pawns at the start of a game.

Knight/horseman/horse

A chess piece represented by a horse's head and neck. Each player starts with two knights

Bishop

A chess piece that goes diagonal according to chess rules. Each player starts with two bishops

Stalemate

A position counting as a draw, in which a player is not in check but cannot move except into check.

Check

A position in chess when the king is under threat. In the next move the king must capture the piece (if possible) or run away from it. Other pieces are also welcome to block the opponent's piece from checkmate. You may not do any other move on the next turn

Queen

The most powerful piece on the board. It is very valuable. It can move as many spaces as it wants in any direction. Each player starts out with one of these. It is worth 9 points.

Rook

The piece that can move any number of unoccupied squares in a direction parallel to the sides of the chessboard. Each players starts with two rooks

Checkmate

The position of the king in chess at the end of the game, when it is being directly attacked and cannot escape. If you are checkmated, the opponent wins. You can win by checkmating your opponent.

King

The weakest but the most important piece. If the king can't move anywhere, It is checkmate to a player. The other player wins the game.