Meanings
- uncountableboard gamesPlay that relies on hoping one's opponent blunders or does not find a tactic.
No Hope Chess – do not place a piece on these squares hoping that your opponent will do something dumb.
2010, Joel Johnson, Formation Attacks, →ISBN, page 2453 more examples
I have told many a kiddie not to play 'hope chess'. The term, coined by my good friend Hall-of-Fame Grandmaster John Fedorowicz, suggests that you should play moves you will be comfortable with if your opponent makes the best reply.
2018, Joel Benjamin, Better Thinking, Better Chess, →ISBN, page 190I've been doing something that Coach Shawn calls “hope chess.” That's when you just play any move and hope it works. Pretty soon I find out that it really doesn't work.
2020, Tanitoluwa Adewumi, My Name Is Tani … and I Believe in Miracles Young Readers Edition, Thomas Nelson, →ISBN, page 95It is not too late for the Candidate Master to regroup, but waiting for your opponent to make a blunder is hope chess and usually does not work well.
2020, Alex Dunne, How to Become a Candidate Master: A Practical Guide to Take Your Chess to the Next Level, New In Chess, →ISBN
Cite this entry
hope chess. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hope%20chess
“hope chess.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hope%20chess. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hope chess,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hope%20chess.
Source: hope chess on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.