Simultaneous Exhibition
An event in which one strong player, usually a master or grandmaster, plays multiple games against different opponents at the same time.
In a simul, the exhibitor moves from board to board around a room, and while opponents often benefit from teamwork or spectator suggestions, the exhibitor typically wins the large majority of games due to the skill gap.
Etymology
Simul is a clipping of simultaneous exhibition. Simultaneous is recorded in English from the 1650s, from Medieval Latin simultaneus, ultimately from Latin simul meaning at the same time. Wikipedia's article on the format states plainly that such an exhibition is often referred to simply as a simul, and the Glossary of chess carries simul as a headword. The format itself, one strong player facing many opponents at once on separate boards, is long established in chess practice; the abbreviation is informal club and press usage. Edward Winter's Earliest Occurrences of Chess Terms quotes a 1942 Chess Review sentence listing skittles, tournament, rapid transit, blitz and simultaneous chess together, showing the full phrase in mid-century American usage, but no dated first use of the clipped form simul was found in the sources fetched.
First documented: n.a. for the clipping simul — n.a.; the full phrase simultaneous chess appears in Chess Review, August-September 1942, p. 155, per Edward Winter
Translations
Translations for this term haven't been added yet.