tabiya

English

WOTD – 10 April 2009

Alternative forms

• tabia

Etymology

From Arabic تَعْبِئَة (taʕbiʔa) or تَعْبِيَة (taʕbiya, “mobilization, arrangement”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /təˈbiːə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

tabiya (plural tabiyas)

1. (chess) A position in the opening of a game that occurs after a sequence of moves that is heavily standardized, and from which the players have many possible moves again.
   • 2005, Sam Collins, An Attacking Repertoire for White, page 136:

     This position is a real tabiya. It frequently arises from the Queen's Gambit Declined rather than the Caro-Kann […]

   • 2010, Mihail Marin, The English Opening Volume 2, page 128:

     This is one of the most complex tabiyas of the English/Reti complex.

   • 2018, Carsten Hansen, The Full English Opening, page 63:

     This is pretty much the tabiya for this variation. You will encounter it again and again, and it can arise from numerous move orders […]