Literary notes about PAWN (AI summary)
The word “pawn” takes on diverse meanings across literary works. In many treatises on chess, it denotes the modest yet pivotal piece whose advance can transform the strategic landscape, as illustrated by its role in tactical maneuvers and endgame scenarios [1][2][3]. Beyond the chessboard, “pawn” often appears in a figurative sense, symbolizing the act of sacrificing one’s honor or assets in exchange for immediate relief, as when garments and jewelry are mortgaged or one’s honor is wagered [4][5][6]. This dual usage underscores both the literal significance of a humble piece in a complex game and the metaphorical resonance of vulnerability and transactional loss in human affairs.
- He could not play K - Q 3, because P - Q B 4 would win at least a Pawn.
— from Chess Fundamentals by José Raúl Capablanca - If now White advances the Pawn, the Black King gets in front of it and White must either give up the Pawn or play K - K 6, and a stale mate results.
— from Chess Fundamentals by José Raúl Capablanca - In this last respect it might be generally said that a passed Pawn increases in strength as the number of pieces on the board diminishes .
— from Chess Fundamentals by José Raúl Capablanca - And I was secretly glad when the markets failed, even if my clothes did go into pawn.
— from Martin Eden by Jack London - I rais'd him, and I pawn'd Mine honour for his truth; who being so heighten'd, He watered his new plants with dews of flattery,
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - At last she desired to borrow money of me, L5, and would pawn gold with me for it, which I accepted and promised in a day or two to supply her.
— from The Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete by Samuel Pepys