A "poisoned pawn"
chess cliches
I just used a cliche, "Kicking and screaming." I used it once before, referring to how I'll be in a losing position making an attempt at counterplay with swindles or perpetual checks with the hopes of either a draw or neutralizing.
Most of these aren't cliches but important phrases used in chess. Saying something is drawish is not a cliche if it is drawish. Just like saying "goal" in soccer is not a cliche if someone just scored a goal. Cliches are meant to be statements said so often that they lose their meaning.

The queen will penetrate.
I once heard one of my friends say "There's more penetration in this game than there is in a porn movie."