Glossary of chess

This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. Some of these have their own pages, like fork and pin. For a list of unorthodox chess pieces, see Fairy chess piece; for a list of terms specific to chess problems, see Glossary of chess problems; for a list of chess-related games, see Chess variants.

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P

[adjective: prophylactic] Prophylactic techniques include the blockade, overprotection, and the mysterious rook move.

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References

Bibliography

File (formation)

A file is a military term for a number of troops drawn up in line ahead, i.e. one behind the other in a column. The number of files is the measure of the width of a formation of troops in several ranks one behind the other.

Usage

Files are useful when troops don't know where the enemy is, since there are overlapping fields of fire from each soldier, and cover from a possible flanking attack. Files are at a disadvantage when there are heavy weapons nearby, supported by infantry, especially machine guns and tanks.

Ancient Greek use

A file of men in the Greek phalanx was called a lochos (Greek: λόχος) and usually ranged from eight to sixteen men.

References

Bibliography

File (tool)

A file is a metalworking, woodworking and plastic working tool used to cut fine amounts of material from a work piece. It most commonly refers to the hand tool style, which takes the form of a steel bar with a case hardened surface and a series of sharp, parallel teeth. Most files have a narrow, pointed tang at one end to which a handle can be fitted.

A similar tool is the rasp. This is an older form, with simpler teeth. As they have larger clearance between teeth, these are usually used on softer, non-metallic materials.

Related tools have been developed with abrasive surfaces, such as diamond abrasives or silicon carbide. Because of their similar form and function, these have also been termed 'files'.

History

Early filing or rasping (the distinction is emic, not etic) has prehistoric roots and grew naturally out of the blending of the twin inspirations of cutting with stone cutting tools (such as hand axes) and abrading using natural abrasives, such as well-suited types of stone (for example, sandstone). Relatedly, lapping is also quite ancient, with wood and beach sand offering a natural pair of lap and lapping compound. The Disston authors state, "To abrade, or file, ancient man used sand, grit, coral, bone, fish skin, and gritty woods,—also stone of varying hardness in connection with sand and water."

Transport (band)

Transport is a three-piece independent rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, made up of Keir Nuttall (guitar, vocals), Scott Saunders (bass, vocals) and Steve Pope (drums).

History

Transport was formed in 2001 when all three members were studying at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. In 2003 they won Australia's National Campus Band Competition.

Transport also tours and records as the band of Brisbane singer and Sony-BMG artist Kate Miller-Heidke, joined by singer and violinist Sallie Campbell.

Transport's material is written and developed co-operatively by the band, and Keir Nuttall has also contributed songs to Kate Miller-Heidke's repertoire, notably her turntable hit Space They Cannot Touch from 2004's Telegram, and her 2007 single Words.

Transport's first two EPs and other songs including the single Sunday Driver were recorded by producer Guy Cooper on the Gold Coast.

The band has continued to record and perform independently of Kate Miller-Heidke, mainly at Brisbane venues but also on interstate tours and live radio broadcasts. The band's song Sunday Driver was downloaded a record 24,000 times from the website of youth radio network Triple J, and in Britain Stone Hearted has been aired on BBC Radio 1 and on Kerrang! Radio.

Troopship

A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Operationally, standard troopships – often drafted from commercial shipping fleets – cannot land troops directly on shore, typically loading and unloading at a seaport or onto smaller vessels, either tenders or barges.

Attack transports, a variant of ocean-going troopship adapted to transporting invasion forces ashore, carry their own fleet of landing craft. Landing ships beach themselves and bring their troops directly ashore.

History

Ships to transport troops were already used in Antiquity. Ancient Rome used the navis lusoria, a small vessel powered by rowers and sail, to move soldiers on the Rhine and Danube.

The modern troopship has as long a history as passenger ships do, as most maritime nations enlisted their support in military operations (either by leasing the vessels or by impressing them into service) when their normal naval forces were deemed insufficient for the task. In the 19th century, navies frequently chartered civilian ocean liners, and from the start of the 20th century painted them gray and added a degree of armament; their speed, originally intended to minimize passage time for civilian user, proved valuable for outrunning submarines and enemy surface cruisers in war. HMT Olympic even rammed and sank a U-boat during one of its wartime crossings. Individual liners capable of exceptionally high speed transited without escorts; smaller or older liners with poorer performance were protected by operating in convoys.

Transport (constituency)

Transport is a functional constituency in the elections for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. 178 electors are only limited to transportation associations.

A similar Transport and Communication functional constituency was created for the 1995 election by Governor Chris Patten with a much larger electorate base of total 109,716 eligible voters.

Return Members

Transport (1998 to present)

Electoral Results

2010s

2000s

1990s

References