Prep
A casual shorthand term for opening preparation, the specific lines and ideas a player studies in advance of a game or match.
Having strong prep for a given opponent or opening can lead to an early advantage if the opponent unknowingly walks into a well-analyzed line, and top players' preparation teams are often kept confidential before major events.
Etymology
Prep is a clipping of preparation, which entered English in the late 14th century as preparacioun from Old French preparacion and Latin praeparationem, meaning the act of preparing or making ready, with the verb prepare arriving in the mid 15th century from Latin praeparare, formed from prae meaning before and parare meaning to make ready. In modern chess, prep is the everyday shorthand for opening preparation, the analysis a player does before a game, now usually with engines and databases, so that home analysis can be reproduced over the board. Wikipedia's Glossary of chess does not list prep, but does list preparation as a cross-reference to opening preparation, confirming the full form as the standard term. No dated first use of the clipped form prep in chess was found in the sources fetched.
First documented: n.a. — n.a.
Translations
Translations for this term haven't been added yet.