Sounds German. Or maybe I'm thinking of "Panzer".
Patzer?
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Patzer doesn't just mean a weak player, it conveys the sense of braggadocio and inflated self-worth without commensurate ability.
The etymology is from an Old German term 'batzen' which became 'patzen' at a later date and was derived from 'backen' which means "to bake." The noun form 'batzen' meant a clot, or a lump and as an intransitive verb to be sticky. The transitive verb meant to do a smeary, bad, superficial work -- in other words, to blunder!
So patzer's make nice big messy blunders. We all knew that!
But the same family of words includes the archaic 'batzet' or 'batzig' which means bloated, boastful, impudent or conceited.
So a patzer isn't merely a bad player, but a bad player who thinks much more of himself than his play deserves.
It is really an term of insult and isn't something you should ever call someone else who you aren't sure deserves it!
Kingpatzer wrote:
Patzer doesn't just mean a weak player, it conveys the sense of braggadocio and inflated self-worth without commensurate ability.
The etymology is from an Old German term 'batzen' which became 'patzen' at a later date and was derived from 'backen' which means "to bake." The noun form 'batzen' meant a clot, or a lump and as an intransitive verb to be sticky. The transitive verb meant to do a smeary, bad, superficial work -- in other words, to blunder!
So patzer's make nice big messy blunders. We all knew that!
But the same family of words includes the archaic 'batzet' or 'batzig' which means bloated, boastful, impudent or conceited.
So a patzer isn't merely a bad player, but a bad player who thinks much more of himself than his play deserves.
It is really an term of insult and isn't something you should ever call someone else who you aren't sure deserves it!
Interesting!
I’M no linguist but I thought the word ‘patzer’ was of Yiddish origin…….
I looked it up, and it said German.
Yiddish (ייִדיש yidish or אידיש idish, literally "Jewish") is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken in many parts of the world. It developed as a fusion of Hebrew and Aramaic into German dialects with the infusion of Slavic and traces of Romance languages.[2][3] It is written in the Hebrew alphabet
Maybe we are both right.......
Could be. :)
Nov 20, 2012
0
#10
According to the "Duden" (standard German dictionary) a patzer is:
1. (colloquial) little mistake which happens due to carelessness
2. (colloquial) an incompetent person (bungler, fumbler, smatterer ... etc.)
3. (austrian) somebody who blobs ( or blurs, blots ... etc.) alot
Nov 20, 2012
0
#11
PatzerLars wrote:
According to the "Duden" (standard German dictionary) a patzer is:
1. (colloquial) little mistake which happens due to carelessness
2. (colloquial) an incompetent person (bungler, fumbler, smatterer ... etc.)
3. (austrian) somebody who blobs ( or blurs, blots ... etc.) alot
I know a person who fit in perfectly in nos 2. 
My first thought was the word patzer is like the term peanut gallery,just a gut reaction.
It's a pity that chess is so infiltrated with negative connotations, a result of "thinking too much" maybe.
Who you calling a Patzer now !! 
Kingpatzer wrote:
Patzer doesn't just mean a weak player, it conveys the sense of braggadocio and inflated self-worth without commensurate ability.
The etymology is from an Old German term 'batzen' which became 'patzen' at a later date and was derived from 'backen' which means "to bake." The noun form 'batzen' meant a clot, or a lump and as an intransitive verb to be sticky. The transitive verb meant to do a smeary, bad, superficial work -- in other words, to blunder!
So patzer's make nice big messy blunders. We all knew that!
But the same family of words includes the archaic 'batzet' or 'batzig' which means bloated, boastful, impudent or conceited.
So a patzer isn't merely a bad player, but a bad player who thinks much more of himself than his play deserves.
It is really an term of insult and isn't something you should ever call someone else who you aren't sure deserves it!
cool. thanks.
I raise.
i dont know where the name patzer originates from, but Tarrasch is the first one i know who used it.
im also pretty sure Tarasch would have called players below 2400 patzers.
I know it's a crappy chess player, but does anybody know where the word itself originated?