From: Andrew Okun <okun <at> ENI <dot> NET>
Date: 13 apr 1997
Subject: Re: Shogi pictures

>
>Thanks! Wood-print artist, Kuniyoshi seems to have been really good at
>caricaturizing people's lives without being snide.In those three prints he
>shows common phrases derived from shogi, which leads me to wonder if there
>are phrases in English derived from chess which are used commonly in
>everyday life. Are there any?
>

I can't think of many phrases or expressions off-hand, but chess vocabulary
permeates English, some of it doubtless chess imagery, but some perhaps the
other way, regular words that Chess adopted for its own.

pawn -- Someone who is a mere tool, expendable. It was in chess use by the
1300s and comes from the word for "footman" or foot soldier. Peon comes
from the same root.

 -- 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. i. iii, Councillors of State..playing their
high chess-game, whereof the pawns are Men.

checkmate -- Final move that results in victory.

 -- 1652 L. S. People’s Liberty x. 20 To give a check-mate to Religion.

gambit -- trick or strategem.

 -- 1863 W. P. Lennox Biogr. Remin. I. 237 The Emperor’s genius in the art
of war had devised a brilliant gambit in this military game of chess.

Game of chess or chess game -- Any contest involving the countered actions
of two minds.

 -- 1887 F. E. Gretton Classical Coincidences vii. 5 Hannibal, in his
famous game of chess with Fabius.

A move, his next move. -- An action in some contest or effort. This meaning
is very general and broadly used, but I would argue often has the
connotation in a notional chess game. This meaning is listed in the OED as
2b (figurative) where 2a is a move in chess or draughts.

 -- 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Dict. s.v., To be flash to every move upon the
board, is to have a general knowledge of the world, and all its numerous
deceptions.

End game -- The final phase of a struggle. I couldn't find a quote.

Pieces -- Assets in a strategic conflict.

A sacrifice -- Something offered up for strategic advantage.  This use
might precede its use in chess.

Andy