pawn grabbing

English

From pawn +‎ grabbing.

pawn grabbing (uncountable)

(informal, chess) playstyle where a player prioritizes capturing opponents' pawns rather than focusing on overall strategy or victory conditions. Often seen as a beginner's mistake or an overly aggressive, short-sighted approach
- 2010 July 8, James Eade, Chess Openings For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 334:
  ... Pawn grabbing is the phrase used to describe the mistake of taking too much time away from your development in order to win a pawn. Chess players speak of a “poisoned” pawn, indicating that the time spent in capturing it is not worth […]
- 2012, Joel Johnson, Formation Attack Strategies, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 123:
  The pawn isn't worth the tempos that you spend moving your piece(s) away from the action. Violations. however has no place in the King's Gambit and combined with some questionable pawn grabbing leads to a quick […]