ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Chess problem terminology

Okay kiddo, chess problem terminology is the words that people use to talk about puzzles and challenges in the game of chess. Here are some important ones:

1. Checkmate: This is when you trap your opponent's king so it can't move anywhere without being captured.

2. Mate in X: This means that you have to find a way to checkmate your opponent in a certain number of moves, which is usually written as "X." For example, "Mate in 3" means you have to checkmate your opponent in three moves.

3. Forced variation: When there's only one way to continue the game, because any other move would lead to a worse result.

4. Zugzwang: This is a fancy word that means when a player has to make a move, but any move they make will weaken their position.

5. Stalemate: When it's your turn to move, but there's no legal move you can make because all your pieces would put your king in check. The game ends in a tie if there's a stalemate on the board.

6. Combination: This means a series of moves that are played one after the other, with the goal of achieving an advantage in the game.

7. Sacrifice: When you give up one of your pieces for free, in order to create some sort of advantage or opportunity later on.

Those are just a few of the words we use to talk about chess problems. Chess is a really complex game, so it takes a lot of practice and learning to understand all the different ways you can play!