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Speak Like a Chess Player

Speak Like a Chess Player

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WCM lularobs
| 38 | Fun & Trivia

The chess community has its own language.

It's easy to tell if somebody is new to chess, because they'll ask you things like, "Hey, what's en passant?" and, "How does the horse move?"

One very important part of "understanding" chess is knowing how to speak the language, and as someone who is both Gen Z and extremely online, I believe that makes me the natural authority on chess slang.

Let’s first differentiate between chess terminology and what I’m calling chess slang. I’m not talking about technical terms like “doubled pawns” or “en passant”—I expect you know those already. But I’m also not talking about ephemeral terms co-opted from internet brainrot content, like "gambit-maxxing" or being "Sicilian-pilled" (stories for another time).

Rather, chess slang sits somewhere between the canonized language of dusty chess books and the fleeting microtrends of TikTok, and is equally likely to be used by a grandmaster as by a kid at a scholastic chess club.

Jump to:

Juicer

A term used to refer to an enemy chess piece; allegedly coined by xQc and popularised by GM Hikaru Nakamura.

Often mistaken for referring to a specific piece, usually a pawn or bishop, Nakamura has clarified on his Twitch stream “a juicer is whatever [piece] you want it to be, the juice is the juice.” Truly words to live by.

The term juicer is especially used to refer to an enemy piece which can be captured.

How to use it in a sentence: So then after takes, takes, and takes, you can just grab the juicer. 

Botez Gambit

Referring to WFM Alexandra Botez and her sister Andrea Botez, Botez Gambit is slang for blundering your queen. Named after the countless times the Botez sisters have gifted their queens to opponents whilst playing speed chess and streaming on Twitch, the Botez Gambit can of course be performed by any player, Botez or not.

It would be amiss not to mention that a Botez Gambit should be accompanied by a scream (in the style of Andrea Botez), or at the very least, a guttural groan of frustration, depending on how winning your position was prior to losing your best piece.

How to use it in a sentence: She was totally winning until she played a Botez gambit! 

Loose Piece

Do kids today know LPDO? “Loose pieces drop off!” according to legendary chess player and coach GM John Nunn. A loose piece is any piece on the board that is undefended.

It's important to note that while a loose piece doesn't have to be a piece that is attacked, loose pieces are susceptible to tactics due to the fact that any attack on them gains a tempo, as it requires the piece to be defended or moved to avoid material loss.

One of the most famous examples of this is from a 1994 game between GM Larry Christiansen and former World Chess Champion GM Anatoly Karpov: 

If you have multiple loose pieces, you’re setting your opponent up for some great potential tactics.

How to use it in a sentence: My opponent in round two was so careless, he had loose pieces all over the place.

Cheapo

A cheapo is a tactic or a winning idea that is reliant on a cheap trick. You are expecting your opponent not to see the cage hovering over the cheese; you are playing hope chess. Cheapos are usually reserved for when you have a losing position, or when you're both running out of time, and you need to play your joker.

How to use it in a sentence: We were both low on time, so I went for a cheapo and my opponent fell for it.

Harry

A favorite of GM Simon Williams, Harry is the h-pawn. Why don’t all the other pawns have names? Well, maybe they just aren’t as iconic as Harry, who has become infamous in recent years for being pushed down the board by the chess engine AlphaZero (and grandmasters inspired by AlphaZero, and amateur players inspired by grandmasters inspired by AlphaZero).

Williams even came up with an opening variation called "The Harry Attack," which involves playing h4 on move three.

Octo-Knight

A mega knight. A knight used right. The octo-knight (or octopus knight) is a knight centrally placed, from where it can control eight squares. Knights in the corners or edges of the chessboard are limited by their geography, but the octo-knight can dominate enemy territory without limitation.

How to use it in a sentence: My opponent didn't need the bishop pair, he had an octo-knight on an outpost on my kingside. It was a nightmare!

Woodpusher

An oldie but a goodie, the term woodpusher is old-fashioned chess slang for a low-rated chess player. Seeing as chess pieces are often made from wood, a woodpusher simply pushes the pieces around the board, perhaps aimlessly, not really sure what they’re doing. A woodpusher has no plan, only vibes.

And yes, that's right, chess had a term for noobs long before video games came along. In fact, chess has another term for low-rated players; patzers. There's two for one, so you can decide how you want to trash talk your friends next time they fall for your cheapos.

How to use it in a sentence: Honestly I'm kind of a woodpusher, I never study and I don't know any openings.

Pawn Grubber

Pawn grubbers are intent on acquiring pawns no matter what the cost, or however unscrupulous their methods may be.

Pawn grubbers may regret their greed when they get their queen trapped after taking a poisoned pawn, or they may revel in it when they promote that extra pawn in the endgame. Self-proclaimed king of the pawn grubbers GM Yasser Seirawan would likely argue in favor of the latter.

A similarly used term, “pawn grabbing/pawn grabber” is heard often.

How to use it in a sentence: I'm a pawn grubber, so I'm going to take that.

En Prise

We all know that chess players will do anything they can to throw in foreign-language phrases to seem smarter, and this one is no different. You've heard of en passant, you’ve heard of intermezzo—or at least I hope you have—well, get ready for “en prise.” 

Quite literally meaning “in take,” we use “en prise” to refer to a piece that can be taken. Simple, right? It’s less specific than a Botez gambit, because it can refer to any piece, and different from a loose piece, because it’s a piece that can already be captured that turn.

Pieces which are en prise can also be referred to as hanging pieces, but "hanging" is so commonly used now that I’m not sure it even counts as slang.

How to use it in a sentence: My opponent left his knight en prise, so I guess I’m just going to be up a piece. 

Tall Pawn

Don't be fooled, a tall pawn is actually not a pawn at all. A tall pawn is a term for a bad bishop, which is usually blocked in behind friendly pawns, or occupying the place of a pawn to support the pawn chain.

It’s as though the bishop totally forgot he has a pointy hat and everything, and starts doing pawn duties instead.

You may have seen this term used in one of the most iconic chess books of all time, How to Reassess Your Chess by the late IM Jeremy Silman. 

How to use it in a sentence: My bishop was stuck inside my pawn chain, it couldn't go anywhere... it was basically a tall pawn at that point.

We did it! You are now fluent in chess slang. You finally understand what that guy at your chess club was talking about when he said he fell for a cheapo after capturing his opponent's octo-knight which he thought was en prise. 

Let me know in the comments what your favorite chess slang term is, or which words you think I should cover next time!

If you liked this article, check out Lularobs on Twitch and discover what your favorite chess piece says about you!

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