What’s the etymology of Rook’s Gambit?

7 thoughts on “What’s the etymology of Rook’s Gambit?”

1. I assume it refers to the rook’s special move in chess, where it can switch places with the king.

2. A gambit (in chess) is where you give up piece(s), in hopes that you get something better. So in the Rook’s Gambit move, you are giving up 2 stress, hoping that rolling your best action will turn out well.

3. The only rook gambit I know of in chess is Smirnov’s Gambit in the Sicilian. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. b4 cxb4 4. d4 e6 5. d5 Qf6 6. c3 bxc3 7. dxc6 c2 8. Qxc2 Qxa1 9. e5. The idea being that you’ve now trapped the queen that got the rook and squirming out of it is very difficult.

   You can learn more at: chess.com – The Smirnov Gambit Rook Sac – Chess.com

4. To expand on my earlier comment: in chess, the Rook has an iconic ability, which is to switch places with the King (under some specific circumstances). It’s often seen as a symbol of switching places, of substituting one thing for another.

   So here, you’re switching one ability for another. I think that’s all there is to this.

   (See e.g. the Pathfinder spell “King’s Castle,” http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/advancedPlayersGuide/spells/kingSCastle.html#king's-castle , for similar use.)

5. Ziv Wities Yup. I think that’s called Castling. You can do it if you have no pieces in the way, and only if your King and Rook haven’t moved yet? Still wrestling with the En Passant rules, though. 😛 Chess is a bizarre game.

6. Adam Sexton Also, you can’t castle out of check, into check, or through check. And it has to be on your back rank.

   And given the hobby’s penchant for complicated elfgames, I don’t know that chess is really that bizarre in comparison. =D

7. “Get your ass to the St. Louis Chess Club’s youtube page” – Sylvester Stallone, star of Total Recall

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