Glossary of Chess - H

H

Half-open file

A file on which only one player has no pawns.

Handicap

See Odds.

Hanging

Unprotected and exposed to capture. It is not the same as en prise since a piece en prise may be protected. To "hang a piece" is to lose it by failing to move or protect it.

Hanging pawns

Two friendly pawns abreast without friendly pawns on adjacent files. Hanging pawns can be either a strength (usually because they can advance) or a weakness (because they cannot be defended by pawns) depending on circumstances.

Harrwitz bishops

A player's light-squared and dark-squared bishops placed so that they occupy adjacent diagonals; named for the mid-19th century master Daniel Harrwitz. For example, White has Harrwitz bishops in the Danish Gambit after 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2. Harrwitz bishops can be a potent attacking force in the middlegame. Also called raking bishops.

Heavy piece

A queen or rook, also known as a major piece.

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Dots indicate holes (Evans, 1967)

Hole

A square that a player does not, and cannot in future, control with a friendly pawn. The definition is somewhat subjective: the square must have some positional significance for the opponent to be considered a hole – squares on the first and second ranks are not holes. On the other hand a square is a hole even if it can be controlled in the future with a pawn that has made a capture. An example of the hole is the square e4 in the Stonewall Attack.

Home rank

Rank one for White; rank eight for Black. See back rank.

Hypermodern

An opening system geared towards controlling the center with distant pieces as opposed to occupying it with pawns. See also Classical.