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Tempo (chess)

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Example
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8
h8 white circle
h5 white circle
h1 white rook
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abcdefgh
Moving the rook to h5 and then to h8 would lose a tempo.
Euwe and Hooper, 1959
abcdefgh
8
f8 black king
h7 white rook
b4 black pawn
c3 black pawn
g2 white king
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An important tempo – whoever moves wins.[1]

In chess and other chess-like games, a tempo is a "turn" or single move. When a player achieves a desired result in one fewer move, the player is said to "gain a tempo"; conversely, when a player takes one more move than necessary, the player is said to "lose a tempo". Similarly, when a player forces their opponent to make moves not according to their initial plan, one is said to "gain tempo" because the opponent is wasting moves. A move that gains a tempo is often called "a move with tempo".

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. However, such maneuvers do not always lose a tempo—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

abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
d5 black queen
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
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abcdefgh
Scandinavian Defense after 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5. Now 3.Nc3 gains 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 pawn 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 in material, for example, may be worthless).

A move that comes "with a tempo on a piece" is a move that gains a tempo by attacking that piece. For example, in the Scandinavian Defense, after 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5, White's 3.Nc3 comes "with a tempo on the queen": the knight 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.

Losing a tempo

In some endgame situations, a player must actually lose a tempo to make progress. For example, when the two kings 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.[2]

Timofeev vs. Inarkiev, Moscow
abcdefgh
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d8 white rook
f4 white king
g4 black bishop
h4 black king
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66
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abcdefgh
Position after 117.Rd8, threatening 118.Rh8. Black resigned.
Timofeev vs. Inarkiev, analysis
abcdefgh
8
h8 white rook
h7 black cross
h6 black cross
h5 black bishop
f4 white king
h4 black king
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Analysis position after 117...Be2 118.Rh8+ Bh5. Now 119.Rh7 (or 119.Rh6) is a tempo move.

In the position from a 2008 game between Artyom Timofeev and Ernesto Inarkiev,[3][4] 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.

Spare tempo

Burgess
abcdefgh
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f7 black pawn
f6 black circle
h6 black pawn
a5 white king
b5 black pawn
g5 black pawn
b4 white pawn
c4 black king
g4 white pawn
f3 white circle
h3 white circle
f2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
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66
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White has two spare tempos; Black has only one.

A spare tempo in an endgame arises when a player has a pawn move that does not essentially change the position but that loses a tempo to put the opponent in zugzwang. In this example, 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 had been on h7 instead of h6, White and Black would have an equal number of spare tempos, so the player to move would lose.[5]

Reserve tempo

Nunn vs. Bischoff
abcdefgh
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d7 black king
f7 black pawn
a6 black pawn
g6 black pawn
c5 white pawn
d5 black pawn
g5 white pawn
a4 white circle
f4 white pawn
a3 white circle
c3 white king
a2 white pawn
8
77
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abcdefgh
White to move wins because of a reserve tempo of the pawn on the a-file.

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 and Klaus Bischoff,[6] Black resigned because he must lose his pawn on the d-file because White has a reserve tempo with his a-pawn. For example, after

39... Kc6
40. Kd4 a5
41. a4

or

39... Kc7
40. Kd4 Kc6
41. a3 a5
42. a4[7]

Black must now abandon the d5-pawn (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 a2-pawn either one or two squares.

See also

References

Bibliography

  • Burgess, Graham (2009), The Mammoth Book of Chess (3rd ed.), Running Press Book Publishers, ISBN 978-0-7624-3726-9
  • Euwe, Max; Hooper, David (1959), A Guide to Chess Endings, Dover (1976 reprint), ISBN 0-486-23332-4
  • Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1992), "Tempo", The Oxford Companion to Chess (2nd ed.), Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-866164-1
  • Müller, Karsten; Pajeken, Wolfgang (2008), How to Play Chess Endings, London: Gambit Publications, ISBN 978-1-904600-86-2, OCLC 212407634, transl. from German by Phil Adams.