英和和英

語源

An extension of 3D chess, an actual chess variant seen as being very complex, and long used as a simile ("like a game of 3-D chess") in reference to geopolitics. The term 4D chess ("four-dimensional chess") became popular around 2017, in the context of US politics.

名詞

4D chess (uncountable)

1. (usually ironic) A sophisticated strategy that is far beyond the comprehension of others, especially one in which apparent blunders are simply indicators of yet-to-be-understood brilliance.

   Coordinate terms: 3D chess, 5D chess

   • 1962, Hearings Before Committee of Armed Services of the House of Representatives on Sundry Legislation Affecting the Naval and Military Establishments, Washington: US Government Printing Office, page 1140:

     Mr. STRATTON. Now, with respect to that theory - and all I have is the newspaper articles to go on, to attribute it to you and the Air Force - how can you build missiles to knock out Soviet sites if we don't know where the sites are?
     General WHITE. A very good question. [Laughter.] This whole subject I would describe as a four-dimensional chess game. There are books and studies all over the country. Unfortunately, I am afraid the public as a whole doesn't read them. I think the first thing to bear in mind is that knowing where your enemy is is an age-old military game.

   • 2017 May 31, “The Enduring Appeal of Seeing Trump as Chess Master in Chief”, in The New York Times‎, archived from the original on 27 April 2025:

     Steve Bannon, who once referred to Trump as a “blunt instrument” for his ideology, risks 4-D-chess-playing his way straight out of his position of influence, as his president has reportedly become either annoyed or threatened by his attempts to cast himself as the real grandmaster.

   • 2017 May 31, “The Trump Administration Shakes ‘House of Cards’ Hard”, in The New York Times‎, archived from the original on 29 May 2025:

     He plays four-dimensional chess while his current analogue often seems to play Whac-a-Mole.

   • 2021 August 5, “Messi’s Departure Is a Mess Everyone Could See Coming”, in The New York Times‎, archived from the original on 5 August 2021:

     These are the actions of a club flailing around to make things work, not the 4D chess moves of some Machiavellian puppet master.

   • 2021 September 19, Bismuth [pseudonym; Gabriel Girard], 2:06 from the start, in The History of the A Button Challenge - Part 2: The Pannenkoek Revolution (The Complete History of the Super Mario 64 A Button Challenge)‎, via YouTube:

     While everyone else had been playing checkers, Pannenkoek busted out the 4D chess.

   • 2025 October 2, William Davies, “A critique of pure stupidity: understanding Trump 2.0”, in The Guardian‎:

     Such speculations are often met with a retort that leans even harder into the stupidity allegation. No, Trump and his people are not playing four-dimensional chess, the response goes – we are simply witnessing the consequences of allowing a deranged man into the highest office, backed by a coterie of dim and unqualified cronies.