In chess, a "swindle" describes a situation in which a player who is losing by a significant margin either defeats or draws against the player who is winning by using a trick (or a series of tricks in combination) to lure the winning player into a drawn or losing position. The swindler often also takes advantage of the winning player being in time trouble.
Although the everyday dictionary definition of the English word "swindle" has a strong negative connotation implying dishonesty or fraud, chess "swindles" do not involve any dishonesty or breaking of the rules, and are not viewed as bad. In fact, they are often celebrated as examples of a crafty player brilliantly snatching a draw or even victory from the jaws of seemingly certain defeat.
The most legendary chess swindler of them all was legendary early-20th century American chess grandmaster Frank Marshall, who even published a book in 1914 analyzing his best swindles, called Marshall's Chess "Swindles".