Terminology for refusing to trade

If both players take pieces over and over without stopping each other, they call this a Desperado.

Is there a name for doing the opposite ?

It would be like attacking a piece over and over to force your opponent to defend it with a lot of pieces. I think it's a good strategy to freeze the position and create more long term targets, but I haven't seen anything about it so, maybe it's not.

Check out the definition of desperado.

https://www.chess.com/terms/desperado-chess

It is a tactic. Often applied to pawns. Players just refer to holding tension or pressuring a pawn. You often need to block the pawn so it cant simply advance. For pieces, attacking a pinned piece can be a useful tactic, if breaking the pin forces a concession then your opponent may need forced to defend instead. A benefit is if by defending, your opponent had to play passively, moving their pieces to positions where they control less space. You can then use this opportunity to improve your own pieces or advance your plans, so gain time. There is a lot to be said for hiding tension and improving your position rather than simply exchanging material off the board.

Googling pawn tension should turn up a few articles.

@justbefair

Thanks for the article about Desperado. The wording is a lot better. I guess what I'm asking is more like a different thematic on its own.

@MarkGrubb

I'll look it up! I just feel like handling trades properly has to be one of the most concrete ways to quickly improve at chess as a beginner to the point that it might be a fundamental.

There are a lot of you tube videos on handling trades. Check out John Bartholomew's Chess Fundamentals series. One of the videos is on trades.