Strategy

What Is a Tempo in Chess?

A tempo is a single unit of time — one move — and gaining or losing one often decides the opening.

Definition

A tempo is one move's worth of time. You gain a tempo when your move forces your opponent to respond while also improving your position — attacking their queen while developing a piece, for instance. You lose a tempo when a piece has to move twice to reach the square it should have gone to first. Development races, gambits and endgames are all counted in tempi.

Example

Developing a knight to f3 while attacking a queen that has come out early gains a tempo: the knight reaches a good square and the opponent must spend a move retreating rather than developing.

How to spot it

  • Moving the same piece twice in the opening usually costs a tempo.
  • A developing move that also creates a threat gains one.
  • Do not chase the enemy queen with moves that do not develop — you gain nothing.
  • In endgames, a spare pawn move is a tempo you can use as a waiting move.

The mistake most players make

Chasing tempo for its own sake. A move that gains a tempo but places your piece badly is a loss overall — the tempo has to come with a genuinely useful move.

Frequently asked questions

What does tempo mean in chess?

Tempo means a single move considered as a unit of time. Gaining a tempo means achieving something useful while forcing your opponent to respond; losing a tempo means wasting a move, such as moving the same piece twice for no reason.

How do you gain a tempo in chess?

Make moves that develop a piece or improve your position while simultaneously creating a threat your opponent must answer. Attacking an enemy piece with a developing move is the classic way to gain a tempo in the opening.

Related terms

  • Initiative — The initiative is being the player making threats while your opponent is forced to react.
  • Zugzwang — Zugzwang is being forced to move when every available move makes your position worse.
  • Opposition — The opposition is a king-versus-king standoff where the player who does not have to move controls the key squares.
  • Gambit — A gambit is a deliberate sacrifice, usually of a pawn, offered early for development, open lines or attacking chances.

Practise this pattern

Definitions stick once you have seen the pattern in a real game. Solve tactics puzzles to train recognition, review one of your games to find where it came up, or ask the coach to explain it in a position you are looking at.