Plural of gambit; opening moves in chess or strategic opening moves in conversation or negotiation.
From Italian gambetto (a trip or leg-hook), borrowed into English via French gambit. Originally meant a wrestling move, evolved to mean chess openings and strategic moves.
Gambit originally meant tripping someone up—a literal leg-hook—which perfectly describes how a chess gambit 'trips up' your opponent's expectations by sacrificing a piece early!
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