Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
avancer ses pions en coulisses
English translation:
man(o)euv(e)red/re-arranged his pawns behind the scenes
Added to glossary by
Guillermo Urbina Valdés
Nov 20, 2012 11:12
11 yrs ago
2 viewers *
French term
United Kingdom
Sworn translator. Master's in Law. DPSI
Native in: Spanish 
, English
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, French to English, and 1 more.
avancer ses pions en coulisses
French to English
Social Sciences
Journalism
Part of an interview:
La jeunesse estudiantine exigeait un premier secrétaire d’origine locale, et non pas un émissaire de Moscou.
G. A. — Comment Nazarbaev a-t-il réagi ?
V. K. — Il a avancé ses pions en coulisses. Pendant plusieurs années, il a insisté auprès de Gorbatchev pour que Kolbine soit muté ailleurs. Je le tiens de Mikhaïl Gorbatchev en personne.
La jeunesse estudiantine exigeait un premier secrétaire d’origine locale, et non pas un émissaire de Moscou.
G. A. — Comment Nazarbaev a-t-il réagi ?
V. K. — Il a avancé ses pions en coulisses. Pendant plusieurs années, il a insisté auprès de Gorbatchev pour que Kolbine soit muté ailleurs. Je le tiens de Mikhaïl Gorbatchev en personne.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +6 | man(o)euv(e)red/re-arranged his pawns behind the scenes |
Colin Rowe
|
| 4 +1 | to quietly build up his position |
B D Finch
|
Proposed translations
+6
22 mins
Colin Rowe
Germany
Germany
Native in English
Germany
Par Excellence Translations
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: German to English, French to English, Italian to English, and 3 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
8
Selected
man(o)euv(e)red/re-arranged his pawns behind the scenes
moved/advanced/(re-)positioned
I think the image of the original can be adopted more-or-less literally here, assuming that it is talking about Nazarbaev placing protégés into useful positions.
Alternatively, another option might be that "he (discreetly) pulled strings".
I think the image of the original can be adopted more-or-less literally here, assuming that it is talking about Nazarbaev placing protégés into useful positions.
Alternatively, another option might be that "he (discreetly) pulled strings".
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks a lot!"
+1
13 mins
to quietly build up his position
Moved his pawns into position without drawing attention to it. (Probably impossible in a real game of chess. ;) )
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