Spare tempo

A spare tempo is an available move saved until the moment when passing the critical turn to the opponent matters. A tempo is one move in chess. The spare move is often a pawn advance that does not immediately change the essential relationship between the kings or other pieces.

Its value appears in zugzwang, a position in which being required to move worsens the result. If both kings are correctly placed but one side must yield, a pawn move elsewhere can act as a legal way to wait. The opponent must then leave a square or weaken the position.

Spending the last waiting move

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Start

h5

Kd7

The e4 pawn cannot advance because e5 is occupied by its own king.

The waiting move is still stored

The e4 pawn cannot advance because e5 is occupied by its own king. On the h-file, h4-h5 is the only available pawn waiting move that leaves the central setup untouched.

1. The e4 pawn cannot advance because e5 is occupied by its own king.

Pawn moves cannot be taken back, so spare tempi should be counted and preserved. A move qualifies only if it keeps the important features intact; a pawn move that loses material or opens an entry is not a free wait. Triangulation creates a similar change of turn through a piece route, while a spare tempo is usually stored in the pawn structure.