Literary notes about Gambit (AI summary)
The word "gambit" is deployed with remarkable versatility, serving both as a technical chess term and a broader metaphor for initiating strategic moves in life and conversation. In the realm of chess, it designates an opening sacrifice aimed at gaining positional advantage, as illustrated by references to well-known openings like the Queen's Gambit [1] and the Evans Gambit [2, 3]. Beyond the board, authors employ it to describe calculated conversational openings or unexpected moves that set the tone for ensuing events, with instances of a “conversational gambit” that deftly weave character interaction and narrative tension [4, 5, 6]. Occasionally, the term even transforms into a pun or symbolic reflection of personal risk, adding layers to both dialogue and plot structure [7, 8, 9]. Ultimately, the nuanced use of “gambit” enriches texts by drawing from the familiar strategies of chess while inviting readers to appreciate complex maneuvers in the theater of human affairs [10, 11, 12].
- There is also the Queen's gambit, of which the opening moves are— WHITE.
— from The Blue Book of Chess Teaching the Rudiments of the Game, and Giving an Analysis of All the Recognized Openings by Howard Staunton - 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. b4 {We have now the same position brought about which occurs in the Evans Gambit.} Bxb4 5.
— from The Blue Book of Chess Teaching the Rudiments of the Game, and Giving an Analysis of All the Recognized Openings by Howard Staunton - The last move constitutes the Evans Gambit.
— from Hoyle's Games Modernized by Professor Hoffmann - "Just one thing I'd like to know," Edwardson said, slipping with ease into an old conversational gambit.
— from The Hour of Battle by Robert Sheckley - It was the signal that the weather had broken, justifying at length Mrs. Jakes' conversational gambit.
— from Flower o' the Peach by Perceval Gibbon - And my conversational gambit, I protest, was masterly, and would have made anybody else think, "Oh how candid is the egotism of this child!"
— from The Cords of Vanity: A Comedy of Shirking by James Branch Cabell - I was going to work the Scholar's Gambit on him, but he'll get his hooks on a whole bunch of money when he gets down town, so I turn him over to you.
— from The Desire of the Moth; and the Come On by Eugene Manlove Rhodes - He has established a kind of 'James-gambit' in historical fiction, and the present romance is no exception to the rule.
— from Darnley; or, The Field of the Cloth of Gold by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James - And wouldn't she have waited until we got closer before trying the noise gambit?
— from The Night of the Long Knives by Fritz Leiber - cried Mrs. Gambit, “are the men gone mad?
— from The Chaplain of the Fleet by James Rice - Comparing notes as to what Trollope novel we had last read was the default gambit.
— from The Way They Lived ThenSerious Interviews, Strong Women, and Lessons for Life in the Novels of Anthony Trollope by Taylor Prewitt - Whatever kind of gambit is being played here, it is bigger than any of its parts or pieces.
— from Highways in Hiding by George O. (George Oliver) Smith
