book move

book move (plural book moves)

1. (chess) An opening move considered to be the best play; a move in a main line.
   • 2020 October 21, Peter Doggers, “Top Chess Players Peak Between 35 and 45, Research Shows”, in Chess.com‎^[1], archived from the original on 2022-12-09:

     The researchers only considered the phase between move 10 and move 100 to rule out most of the "book moves" and didn't consider games that lasted fewer than 20 moves.

   • [2022 June 13, Isaac Aronow, “Chess Terms and Vocabulary”, in The New York Times‎^[2], archived from the original on 2023-01-17:

     Book move — A standard or conventional move. Not to be confused with a "text move."]

• outbook