Tempo (chess)

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Tempo (from Italian tempo 'time'; plural : tempi ) describes the right to move or the obligation to move for a (half) move in chess . In terms of the rules of the game, a tempo is also a unit of time in the game.

Temporal dimension

The temporal dimension of a tempo is always to be seen in accordance with the rules of the game, alternating without exception, the right to move or the obligation to move, and must not be confused with the reflection time according to the tournament rules of chess. In this sense, it can be a player z. B. lack of “time” in the sense of the right to move to play one or more necessary defensive moves to defend against a mating attack, because according to the rules of the game, moves must always be made alternately.

The "bad" loss of speed

Especially during the opening it is usually important to move the pieces quickly, i. H. to develop and optimally place without wasting time. If move rights (= tempos ) are wasted by "bad" moves, in extreme cases the advance and subsequent withdrawal of a piece without having achieved any other advantage, the opponent gains an advantage if he is playing correctly.

The sensible loss of speed

In endgames, in particular, it can be an advantage to lose a tempo in order to force your opponent to act. This can be done by a speed train (also referred to as a waiting train ), which fulfills the obligation to move, but only reverses the obligation to move in the game-determining area of ​​the position. An extended example of a conscious loss of speed is the triangle maneuver .

Assessment of a loss of tempo

Whether a loss of tempo for a player, which naturally represents a gain in tempo for the opposing player, is favorable or unfavorable can in many cases only be answered on the basis of a concrete assessment of the position. Especially in the early stages of the game there are opening systems ( gambits ) in which material (usually a pawn) is consciously sacrificed in order to gain a tempo. The player's gain in material is then offset by the other player's gain in speed as compensation.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Berlin chess newspaper . de Gruyter, 1865, p. 136.