Eh, that seems like improper usage of the word. "Crossing the rubicon" is a phrase that means you've gone too far to turn back.
So I assume the author's intention was more like the word "threshold" i.e. "central threshold."
So I assume it means the center horizontal line of the board, i.e. between the 4th and 5th rank. So I assume the author's "crossing the central rubicon" would mean going on to the opponent's side of the board.
Oh, I guess that makes sense... because pawns can't go back. So crossing the rubicon might make sense if they're talking about pawns...
I once saw a chess composition, Napoleon crossing the Rubicon. I would like to see the game again. Anyone who knows it?
I am sorry, the game was about the crossing of the Berezina.
https://www.chessproblem.net/viewtopic.php?t=316
no clue
The origin of "Crossing the Rubicon" is at the start of the second Roman civil war (between Julius Caesar and Pompei).
The Rubicon was a river outside of Rome. In order to participate in an election, Caesar needed to be in Rome. But to enter Rome, he had to stop commanding his army, and Caesar's enemies intended to destroy him once out of command. Failure to relinquish command was a capital offence.
So Caesar crosses the river with his army, becoming an outlaw. Once he crossed it, he would either conquer Rome or be defeated and destroyed.
It's now a metaphor for commiting to a course of action which has no get-out.
The Rubicon is a small river that runs into the Adriatic near the city of Rimini at the north end of the Italian peninsula. In 49 BC it marked the border between Italy (governed by the Roman Senate) and the Roman province of Gaul. The Proconsul in charge of Gaul (Gaius Julius Caesar) was feuding politically with the leaders of the Senate, who demanded he abdicate his office and come to Rome. Instead, Caesar led his troops across the river and starting a civil war. (Caesar won, becoming the first Roman Emperor.)
As soon as he rode across the river, Caesar became a traitor with a death sentence on his head. While crossing he said "alea iacta est" (the die is cast), meaning it was impossible to turn back, the only alternatives were victory or death. This expression is still used today to describe a situation where a plan started into action must be pressed to success or the result is total disaster.
In the chess case OP cites I imagine the writer meant that once the central pawn break, or perhaps sacrifice, was made the player was accepting a long-term losing weakness in order to launch a do-or-die attack.
It means more than a big decision. Crossing the Rubicon means making a decision where you can't change your mind. So it's more like point of no return or no turning back.
Crossing the Rubicon refers to a making a decision from which there is no turning back......as Julius Caesar did...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Rubicon
The Rubicon was a river outside of Rome.
Quite a ways outside Rome... about 360 km away.
During my gap year, I took a train from Bari to Venice, stayed two days, and returned. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't cross the Rubicon and go back. It's completely doable.
Do not want to be pedantic, but the first Roman emperor was Augustus, not Caesar.
Do not want to be pedantic, but the first Roman emperor was Augustus, not Caesar.
The English word emperor comes from the latin word imperator. This was a rarely-used title during the Roman republic, voted by the army a handful of times to a general who had accomplished some great feat and was universally loved by his troops. It was purely honorary and conferred no additional powers on its recipient. It comes from the word imperium, the authority held (with strictly-defined limits) on the highest elected officials. It meant someone whose ability to command was an inherent attribute rather than a temporarily bestowed function of elected office. It was the troops' way of saying "We will follow you anywhere no matter your official status". The recipient was honored at festivals, had greater influence in the Senate, and was sought out by succeeding consuls for support in elections and advice while in office.
Gaius Julius Caesar (later called just Julius Caesar, or the Divine Julius) was indeed saluted as Imperator by his army as well as being appointed Dictator (without the usual six-month limit) by the Senate. All his successors were likewise given that title, often by the Praetorian Guard, the Imperator's bodyguard and the only soldiers allowed inside the city walls.
To be pedantic, the person you claim to be the first Roman Emperor, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus, was also (by adoption) a Caesar.
Can anyone explain just exactly what that is