| INSTEAD OF SAYING: | TRY SAYING: |
|---|---|
| "They forced my king out in the open." | "They let me activate my king on a powerful central square." |
| "I'm down an exchange." | "My opponent traded various immaterial advantages for that which they can quantify." |
| "I blundered a pawn." | "I sacrificed a pawn in the hopes of recouping it later with my better structure." |
| "My pawn structure will crumble in the endgame" | "My pawns are set up for a tense knife-fight that ends in the middlegame." |
| "My opponent has the bishop pair." | "My opponent's two minor pieces can never defend one another, making them dependent on their pawns." |
| "I missed mate in three!" | "I proceeded with a more difficult line because I have more to learn about this position." |
| "Oh crap, their queen forked my king and knight!" | "Because I dangled material in front of them, my opponent is moving their queen multiple times in the opening, giving me precious time to develop." |
| "I don't have any pawn breaks." | "With tactful sacrifices, I have an abundance of pawn breaks." |
| "This position is too hard." | "This is a sharp position." |
| "They have mate in three." | "Now the game turns psychological, as I must work to prevent them from seeing their advantage." |
| "They have mate in two." | "My opponent's next move is choreographed." |
| "They have mate in one." | "I have a number of candidate moves, all of which are equally effective." |
This kind of thing is my favorite way to learn about a hobby or subculture. Everything I know about fishkeeping, I know from r/AquariumMemes posting "mfw my new tank has been cycling for a month but the nitrate is still 0".
