Priyome

Priyome (Russian: приём, IPA: [prʲɪˈjɵm] ) is a Russian noun that is used directly and generically in English to represent some sort of typical maneuver or technique in chess. For example, a typical defensive technique in rook endings is to use the king to attack the opponent's pawns. In Russian, приём is a common word with various meanings including "reception", "acceptance" and "gimmick", and is used in contexts as diverse as music, literature, computer science, and martial arts. It is also very common in Russian chess literature to refer to typical maneuvers used in positions with certain pawn structures or other defining characteristics. Because the word does not have an exact equivalent in English—with "device", "technique", or "method" the closest translations—it has appeared untranslated in English-language chess literature, although this usage is not yet widespread.

Examples

A Russian movie, Buket Na Priyome, is a crime drama highlighting the technique as a theme and tactic. A famous game by Garry Kasparov in Nicaragua has been used by training academies to illustrate the technique. After e4–e5 in the first diagram below, the d-file is potentially open, and thus a candidate to be controlled by White's rooks:

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8	File:Chessboard480.svg e8 black knight e7 black king f7 black pawn a6 black pawn d6 black pawn e6 black rook h6 black pawn a5 white pawn b5 black rook c5 black pawn e5 white pawn g5 black pawn b4 black pawn c4 white knight b3 white pawn f3 white pawn h3 white pawn c2 white pawn d2 white rook f2 white king g2 white pawn d1 white rook								8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Moving the rook to the d-file is a priyome, or recommended response. In annotations, moves with exclamation points suggest priyomes.

Example of Black vs. White priyomes

Black to move a b c d e f g h 8 File:Chessboard480.svg a8 black rook c8 black bishop d8 black queen f8 black rook g8 black king a7 black pawn g7 black pawn h7 black pawn b6 black pawn f6 black knight g6 black pawn c5 black pawn d5 white pawn e5 black pawn a4 white pawn c4 white pawn e4 white pawn c3 white pawn d3 white bishop e3 white bishop g2 white pawn h2 white pawn a1 white rook d1 white queen f1 white rook g1 white king 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h In this game from the 1972 Spassky–Fischer World Championship, Spassky played 16.a4, and Fischer answered with 16...a5!. This is a typical defensive technique (priyome) in similar positions, to fix the weakness of the a4-pawn.

White to move a b c d e f g h 8 File:Chessboard480.svg c8 black rook e8 black king g8 black rook b7 black pawn c7 black queen e7 black bishop f7 black pawn g7 black pawn h7 black pawn a6 black pawn c6 black bishop d6 black pawn f6 black knight e5 black pawn f5 white pawn e4 white pawn b3 white bishop c3 white knight e3 white bishop g3 white queen a2 white pawn b2 white pawn c2 white pawn g2 white pawn h2 white pawn a1 white rook f1 white rook g1 white king 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h In this Zsofia Polgar–Apol game from 1988, Polgar played the priyome with 16.Bg5! – again a typical maneuver in this pawn structure, to exchange the bishop for the f6-knight and gain control of the d5-square.

External links

• 64 Commandments of Chess by Bruce Pandolfini
• Chess Strategy, Second Edition and Chess and Checkers: the Way to Mastership, both by Edward Lasker
• The Blue Book of Chess; "Teaching the Rudiments of the Game, and Giving an Analysis of All the Recognized Openings" by Howard Staunton
• Chess Strategy, free lessons on basic elements.