From: Hitoshi Matsubara <matsubar <at> CSLI <dot> STANFORD <dot> EDU>
Date: 26 jan 1994
Subject: Re: a question on chess terms

>>   In shogi, we call it "shobu-te".

>In chess, we call it "bad play." ;)

Yes, in many cases such moves do not succeed.

>Actually, the closest thing I can think of is "cheapo" or "tactical
>cheapo." This terminology is probably most prevalent in the US.  A
>cheapo refers to a move that is obviously losing but the move also has
>a little trap. So if white does not see the trap and walk right into
>it, black wins. For example, if black is losing badly, and he abandons
>his, say, knight to set up a fool's mate, then if white takes the
>knight, black would mate him immediately.  However, with careful play,
>white would end up in a much superior position.

Thank you very much. "Cheapo" has a bad nuance or a good one?

In shogi, "shobu-te" is played in most games. When professional
players are in bad positions, they have to play "shobu-te" to
reverse their positions. If they don't play "shobu-te", their
positions become more bad and bad monotonically.

Hitoshi