English Chess Forum

I was once told by a French woman that there was no such word as adouber in her language, so I guess it's very rare outside the chess context.

It's very specifically the equivalent of the English word dub in the sense of the Queen dubbing someone a knight.

IM Jack Rudd wrote:How to conjugate adouber in full. Should you ever need it.

Thanks for the link, Jack

Memo to Alex: Go to the linked page and read it carefully.

On Richard's point, my large Collins Robert French Dictionary gives the historical meaning of "adouber" as "to dub", but the chess sense as the only current meaning.

David Sedgwick wrote: Memo to Alex: Go to the linked page and read it carefully.

Sorry, what have I missed?

Alex Holowczak wrote:

David Sedgwick wrote: Memo to Alex: Go to the linked page and read it carefully.

Sorry, what have I missed?

I'll reply by PM.

Right, the word of the week this week is:

Rook

a piece worth 5 points, moves up, down, left and right but not diagonally. Need one to perform castling (as long as it hasn't moved or the king). Favourite piece most beginners like to get out first.

Work well when doubled on a file or the 7th rank. Need open files to be most effective but struggle when closed up.

Looks like a castle which is also the name it is sometimes mistakenly given.


I think this is a very safe word this week.

Gavin Strachan wrote:Right, the word of the week this week is:

Rook

a piece worth 5 points, moves up, down, left and right but not diagonally. Need one to perform castling (as long as it hasn't moved or the king). Favourite piece most beginners like to get out first.

Work well when doubled on a file or the 7th rank. Need open files to be most effective but struggle when closed up.

Looks like a castle which is also the name it is sometimes mistakenly given.


I think this is a very safe word this week.

"Favourite piece most beginners like to get out first." - Really?

Does anyone know what the names for the rook (and the other chess pieces) are in other languages?

Christopher Kreuzer wrote: Does anyone know what the names for the rook (and the other chess pieces) are in other languages?

A quick google came up with this.

In other Western European languages, a rook is (reasonably enough) a tower. I was a bit concerned to discover the Estonian for Rook is Vanker. Be careful next time you're playing Carmen Kass. More Estonian - Queen is Lipp, Knight is Ratsu.

[quote="Christopher Kreuzer
"Favourite piece most beginners like to get out first." - Really?

quote]

Yes I am a beginner and like to get the rooks out early. Scientifically proven after a study of 10,000 patz...beginners.

Gavin Strachan wrote:Yes I am a beginner and like to get the rooks out early. Scientifically proven after a study of 10,000 patz...beginners.

I read somewhere that playing the a-pawn and/or h-pawn forward and bringing the rooks out *really* early sometimes works...

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:

Gavin Strachan wrote:Yes I am a beginner and like to get the rooks out early. Scientifically proven after a study of 10,000 patz...beginners.

I read somewhere that playing the a-pawn and/or h-pawn forward and bringing the rooks out *really* early sometimes works...

An example of this is provided near the beginning of "Winning Chess Openings" by Yasser Seirawan. His opponent simply moved his e- and d-pawns and snapped up both the luckless rooks with his bishops. It's so nice when GMs tell us that they used to be beginners too...

When a fellow pupil first taught me chess at school, he called the piece in the corner "castle". I felt quite smug when I read in my first chess book (Raymond Keene's Pocket Book of Chess) that it was actually called a rook. Cue a conversation some time later "It's the rook that goes in the corner isn't it?" "No it's not, it's the castle!"

In my French dictionary (Collins Robert 1997 pocket edition), adouber does not appear in the French-English section and to adjust has at least three different translations depending on what you are adjusting, none of which is adouber.

Given that it is the authority on uses of French, L'Académie française doesn't seem to have entered the debate on the use of adouber. Rather like what Geronimo said when he jumped out of the aeroplane, does anyone know what they say in France (or anywhere else for that matter) when they adjust something? When playing someone from Poland a few years back I adjusted something having said "J'adoube" and he didn't know what I was talking about, so I had to explain.

Alexander Hardwick wrote:

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:

Gavin Strachan wrote:Yes I am a beginner and like to get the rooks out early. Scientifically proven after a study of 10,000 patz...beginners.

I read somewhere that playing the a-pawn and/or h-pawn forward and bringing the rooks out *really* early sometimes works...

An example of this is provided near the beginning of "Winning Chess Openings" by Yasser Seirawan. His opponent simply moved his e- and d-pawns and snapped up both the luckless rooks with his bishops. It's so nice when GMs tell us that they used to be beginners too...

I was actually referring to games where the early-rook mover wins...

Richard James wrote:

Christopher Kreuzer wrote: Does anyone know what the names for the rook (and the other chess pieces) are in other languages?

A quick google came up with this.

In other Western European languages, a rook is (reasonably enough) a tower. I was a bit concerned to discover the Estonian for Rook is Vanker. Be careful next time you're playing Carmen Kass. More Estonian - Queen is Lipp, Knight is Ratsu.

Thanks! I should know, but can anyone remember why a rook is called a rook? It's not anything to do with the bird is it? I found the following on the Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rook_(chess)

Symbology: "In heraldry, chess rooks are often used as charges. Unlike a real chess rook, they are conventionally shown with two outward-curving horns. This is because they would otherwise appear to be castle towers, since there is no proportion on a coat of arms. This charge is always blazoned "chess rook" so as not to be confused with the bird of that name; it is also not to be confused with the zule, a similar-looking object with two outward-curving horns at both top and bottom. In Canadian heraldry, the chess rook is the brisure of the fifth daughter."

Which is, of course, nothing to do with chess, but I thought it might be interesting!

I also found the answer to my original question: "The Persian word rukh means chariot".

So how did we get from "chariot" to "tower" in other languages? Apparently: "the Persian rukh became the Italian word rocca, meaning fortress". But there is presumably a lot of speculation here. On a slightly different tack (hah!): "The Russian name for the rook ("ladya") means a ship or boat."

Baden Baden.

Nothing to do with Leonard Barden Barden and yes it is two words and a place.

Regarded as staging the first strongest chess tournament (1870) which was invitation only (top international players of the day) and used clocks. The tournament was won by Anderrsen with Steinitz in a close 2nd half a point behind.

1925 the tournament was won by Alekhine.

This weeks word of the week is:

Fork

When two or more of the opponents pieces are being attacked at the same time by one piece.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork_(chess) for diagrams.