ChessWorld Glossary

ChessWorld Hitchhiker's Guide to Chess

Scope: This glossary does not intend to cover player names, opening names, or Composition terms. The Glossary aims to relate the terms to ChessWorld where possible when giving examples.
If you have contributions, corrections or questions, please post them to the Chess Forum for discussion.
There is a dedicated Chess Openings Glossary

Glossary Course Modules with Game Examples

Glossary Course Modules with Tactical Puzzle Examples

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H

Hack Attack
Chessworld Member 'Cuppablanca' came up with the following in response to Juicy Plum's forum enquiry about the term "Hack Attack" :-

I think it is worth looking at the original meaning of the word 'hack' (a word derived from the Old English 'haccian'and related to the German 'hacken'. It was first used as a verb meaning to cut something down with repeated and irregular blows. For example, to 'hack' down a tree roughly with an axe, or (much later)to 'hack' someone at football by kicking them roughly in the legs or ankles.

Like many verbs, the word could also be used as a noun (basically meaning the cut caused by the act of hacking') and somehow this also came to be used as a term for a fairly ordinary or overworked horse ... or indeed a horse-drawn vehicle (such as a 'hackney' carriage). The term was then subsequently used in a derogatory adjectival sense to describe any 'worn-out' or 'undistinguished' person, such as a 'hack' journalist.

I feel its use in a chess sense has overtones of both its original meaning (i.e. to cut down one's opponent by repeated rough blows) and also its later 'derogatory' sense (i.e. to do so in an unoriginal or 'hackneyed' fashion). If viewed in this way, there is a certain delightful ambiguity about its usage as applied to a method of attack in chess.

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Half move
This term describes a single move or Ply. For example:-

1 e4 e6 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5

is a game which has 5 plies in total. It can also be found in joke puzzles with a different meaning completely:

For example:-

Analyse position

Mate in a half move :)

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Half-centre
This is a pawn centre in which one side has a centre pawn on the fourth rank, which faces the opponent's pawn on the third rank of the adjacent centre file, and the other two pawns have been exchanged. Example position below:-

Analyse position

White has a half-centre in the above position. Black in the above generally has a more cramped game, as White has extra mobility and a more aggressive centre pawn. However, black can often achieve compensation by pressure on the exposed pawn.

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Half-open file
This is the same term as "Semi-open file", and means that one side has pressure along a file because they do not have a pawn there. But the opponent does have a pawn there, so cannot contest that pressure directly. For example, in the Sicilian defence after:-

Analyse position

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4

Both sides have half-open files here. White has a half-open d file, whilst black has a half-open c file. The pawn structure often dictates the future plans of both sides, and in the Sicilian defence, Black will often aim to exploit the half-open-file by establishing a knight outpost on c4 for example.

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Handicap
This is a way of compensating for the differences of skill between two players. For example a time handicap on the chess clock might be given. The stronger player may only be given 1 minute compared to the opponent's 5 minutes for a blitz game. Handicaps can also be in the form of material - White could play without a pawn or Rook. Another type of handicap is the stronger player playing blindfold. The former world champion Alexander Alekhine could play several players in a blindfold simultaneous display quite successfully :)

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Hanging pawns
These are two adjacent pawns that are subject to pressure from the opponent because they reside on semi ("half") -open files. For example, in the position below:-

Analyse position

Whites c and d pawns are "hanging pawns". Whether they are strong or weak, depends on the pecularities of the position.

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Hole
A square that cannot be guarded by one's own pawns. Holes can become outposts for knights. In the diagram below, Black has a hole on d5, which makes for a good knight outpost for White.

Analyse position

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Hypermodern
This terms originated from Tartakower who named the revolutionary movement in the 1920's which rebelled against the dogmatic teachings of Tarrasch. The main leaders of the rebellion movement included: Nimzovich, Alekhine, Bogolijubow, Gruenfeld and Reti. These players chose to attack the centre indirectly from the sides. For example Reti often played a Kings fianchetto system. Alekhine popularised the Alekhine defence with 1.e4 Nf6,. Nimzovich spearheaded the Nimzo-indian defence 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 Many openings and variations were introduced by these revolutionary rebels of the time, and they have since become standard play. The Nimzo-indian defence for example is one of the most reputable ways of combatting 1.d4.

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