the.com/opening gambit

means The opening move in a negotiation or conversation, often giving up a small advantage deliberately in order to gain a stronger position afterward.

from From chess, where "gambit" traces back to Italian "gambetto" (a tripping of the leg, from gamba, "leg"), describing an opening in which a player sacrifices a pawn early to gain better position on the board. The word jumped from chessboards into diplomacy and conversation by the 20th century, where "opening gambit" came to mean any calculated first move — especially one that looks like a small concession but is really a setup for advantage.