Tempo (chess)
Encyclopedia
In chess
, tempo refers to a "turn" or single move. When a player achieves a desired result in one fewer move, he "gains a tempo" and conversely when he takes one more move than necessary he "loses a tempo". Similarly, when one forces his opponent to make moves not according to the initial plan, one "gains tempo" because the opponent wastes moves.
A simple example of losing a tempo may be moving a rook
from the h1 square to h5 and from there to h8 in the first diagram; simply moving from h1 to h8 would have achieved the same result with a tempo to spare. Such maneuvers do not always lose a tempo however—the rook on h5 may make some threat which needs to be responded to. In this case, since both players have "lost" a tempo, the net result in terms of time is nil, but the change brought about in the position may favor one player more than the other.
move which also drives the checking piece away, the check may even lose a tempo.
In general, making moves with gain of tempo is desirable. A player is said to have the initiative if they are able to keep making moves which force their opponent to respond in a particular way or limit their responses. The player with the initiative has greater choice of moves and can to some extent control the direction the game takes, though this advantage is only relative, and may not be worth very much (having a slight initiative when a rook down, for example, may be worthless).
In the Scandinavian Defense
, after 1. e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5, if White plays 3. Nc3 it attacks Black's queen
, forcing it to move again, and White gains a tempo. A similar move gains a tempo in the Center Game
opening
.
s stand in opposition
(a form of zugzwang
), the player to move is often at a disadvantage because he must move. The player to move may be able to triangulate
in order to lose a tempo and return to the same position but with the opponent to move (and put him in zugzwang). Kings, queens, bishops
, and rooks can lose a tempo; a knight
cannot .
In the position from a 2008 game between Artyom Timofeev
and Ernesto Inarkiev
, Black resigned because White will win with a tempo move. (Timofeev won the 2008 Moscow Open with this game.) White is threatening 118. Rh8+. If Black moves his king on move 117, White wins the bishop with 118. Rh8+, which results in a position which has an elementary checkmate
. If Black moves 117... Bh5 then 118. Rh8 and Black is in zugzwang, and loses. So Black must move 117... Be2 to avoid immediately getting into a lost position. But then will come 118. Rh8+ Bh5 and now White makes a tempo move with 119. Rh7 (or 119. Rh6), maintaining the pin
on the bishop, making it Black's turn to move, and Black must lose the bishop.
and any move Black makes will lose.
If the black pawn was on h7 instead of h6, White and Black would have an equal number of spare tempos, so the player to move would lose .
In this position from a 1986 game between John Nunn
and Klaus Bischoff
, Black resigned because he must lose his pawn on the d-file because White has a reserve tempo with his a-pawn. For example,
or
In both cases, Black must now abandon his pawn on d5 (or first move and lose his pawn on f7). White is able to place Black in zugzwang because he has the option of moving the pawn on a2 either one square or two squares.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, tempo refers to a "turn" or single move. When a player achieves a desired result in one fewer move, he "gains a tempo" and conversely when he takes one more move than necessary he "loses a tempo". Similarly, when one forces his opponent to make moves not according to the initial plan, one "gains tempo" because the opponent wastes moves.
A simple example of losing a tempo may be moving a rook
Rook (chess)
A rook is a piece in the strategy board game of chess. Formerly the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes...
from the h1 square to h5 and from there to h8 in the first diagram; simply moving from h1 to h8 would have achieved the same result with a tempo to spare. Such maneuvers do not always lose a tempo however—the rook on h5 may make some threat which needs to be responded to. In this case, since both players have "lost" a tempo, the net result in terms of time is nil, but the change brought about in the position may favor one player more than the other.
Gaining a tempo
Gaining tempo may be achieved, for example, by developing a piece while delivering check, though here too, if the check can be countered by the development of a piece, the net result may be nil. If the check can be blocked by a useful pawnPawn (chess)
The pawn is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces...
move which also drives the checking piece away, the check may even lose a tempo.
In general, making moves with gain of tempo is desirable. A player is said to have the initiative if they are able to keep making moves which force their opponent to respond in a particular way or limit their responses. The player with the initiative has greater choice of moves and can to some extent control the direction the game takes, though this advantage is only relative, and may not be worth very much (having a slight initiative when a rook down, for example, may be worthless).
In the Scandinavian Defense
Scandinavian Defense
The Scandinavian Defense is a chess opening characterized by the moves:The Center Counter Defense is one of the oldest recorded openings, first recorded as being played between Francesco di Castellvi and Narciso Vinyoles in Valencia in 1475 in what may be the first recorded game of modern chess,...
, after 1. e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5, if White plays 3. Nc3 it attacks Black's queen
Queen (chess)
The queen is the most powerful piece in the game of chess, able to move any number of squares vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of the first rank next to the king. With the chessboard oriented correctly, the white queen starts...
, forcing it to move again, and White gains a tempo. A similar move gains a tempo in the Center Game
Center Game
The Center Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The game usually continues 3.Qxd4 Nc6, developing with a gain of tempo due to the attack on the white queen....
opening
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
.
Losing a tempo
In some endgame situations, a player must actually lose a tempo to make progress. For example, when the two kingKing (chess)
In chess, the king is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that its escape is not possible . If a player's king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If this cannot be...
s stand in opposition
Opposition (chess)
In chess, opposition is the situation occurring when two kings face each other on a rank or file, with only one square in between them. In such a situation, the player not having to move is said to "have the opposition" . It is a special type of zugzwang and most often occurs in endgames with...
(a form of zugzwang
Zugzwang
Zugzwang is a term usually used in chess which also applies to various other games. The term finds its formal definition in combinatorial game theory, and it describes a situation where one player is put at a disadvantage because he has to make a move when he would prefer to pass and make no move...
), the player to move is often at a disadvantage because he must move. The player to move may be able to triangulate
Triangulation (chess)
Triangulation is a tactic used in chess to put one's opponent in zugzwang. That is, it gets to the same position with the other player to move, when it is a disadvantage for that player to move, e.g. he has to give up a blockade and let the other player penetrate his position...
in order to lose a tempo and return to the same position but with the opponent to move (and put him in zugzwang). Kings, queens, bishops
Bishop (chess)
A bishop is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's knight and the king, the other between the queen's knight and the queen...
, and rooks can lose a tempo; a knight
Knight (chess)
The knight is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight . It is normally represented by a horse's head and neck. Each player starts with two knights, which begin on the row closest to the player, one square from the corner...
cannot .
In the position from a 2008 game between Artyom Timofeev
Artyom Timofeev
Artyom Timofeev is a Russian chess Grandmaster. He won the European Youth Chess Championship for U18 in 2000. He tied for 1st-6th with Evgeniy Najer, Kaido Külaots, Zoltan Gyimesi, Sergey Grigoriants and Oleg Korneev at the Cappelle-la-Grande Open 2004...
and Ernesto Inarkiev
Ernesto Inarkiev
Ernesto Inarkiev is a Russian chess Grandmaster. He was named after Ernesto "Che" Guevara. In 2006 he came third in the 59th Russian Chess Championship Superfinal....
, Black resigned because White will win with a tempo move. (Timofeev won the 2008 Moscow Open with this game.) White is threatening 118. Rh8+. If Black moves his king on move 117, White wins the bishop with 118. Rh8+, which results in a position which has an elementary checkmate
Checkmate
Checkmate is a situation in chess in which one player's king is threatened with capture and there is no way to meet that threat. Or, simply put, the king is under direct attack and cannot avoid being captured...
. If Black moves 117... Bh5 then 118. Rh8 and Black is in zugzwang, and loses. So Black must move 117... Be2 to avoid immediately getting into a lost position. But then will come 118. Rh8+ Bh5 and now White makes a tempo move with 119. Rh7 (or 119. Rh6), maintaining the pin
Pin (chess)
In chess, a pin is a situation brought on by an attacking piece in which a defending piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable defending piece on its other side to capture by the attacking piece...
on the bishop, making it Black's turn to move, and Black must lose the bishop.
Spare tempo
A spare tempo in an endgame is when a player has a pawn move that does not essentially change the position but it loses a tempo to put the opponent in zugzwang. In this position, if only the queenside pieces were considered, it would be an instance of reciprocal zugzwang - the player to move would lose. In the full position, White has two spare tempos (f2-f3 and h2-h3) whereas Black has only one (f7-f6), so White has a spare tempo. By using these moves he can force Black into a fatal zugzwang:- 1. h3 f6
- 2. f3
and any move Black makes will lose.
If the black pawn was on h7 instead of h6, White and Black would have an equal number of spare tempos, so the player to move would lose .
Reserve tempo
A pawn may have a reserve tempo, mainly in endgames involving only kings and pawns. This is especially true of a pawn on the second rank, where it has the option of moving one or two squares. Pawn moves held in reserve may be used to win a game.In this position from a 1986 game between John Nunn
John Nunn
John Denis Martin Nunn is one of England's strongest chess players and once belonged to the world's top ten. He is also a three times world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician....
and Klaus Bischoff
Klaus Bischoff
Klaus Bischoff is a German chess player. He was awarded the Grandmaster title by FIDE in 1990.In international tournaments, he has taken a share of first place on a number of occasions, including Kecskemét 1988, Arosa 1996, Recklinghausen 1999, Essen 2000, Bad Zwesten 2003 and Bad Zwesten again in...
, Black resigned because he must lose his pawn on the d-file because White has a reserve tempo with his a-pawn. For example,
- 39... Kc6
- 40. Kd4 a5
- 41. a4
or
- 39...Kc7
- 40. Kd4 Kc6
- 41. a3 a5
- 42. a4 .
In both cases, Black must now abandon his pawn on d5 (or first move and lose his pawn on f7). White is able to place Black in zugzwang because he has the option of moving the pawn on a2 either one square or two squares.