4D chess

The act of playing a stratagem, moves ahead, in such a multi-layered, brain sparklingly sophisticatedly process, that no one outside of the gamer's own mind even has a biscuit of what is going on until days, weeks or even months later, maybe even never, unless informed in great detail or being a spectacular Autist themselves.

A term most often used to mock people who try to present their incompetence as a part of a greater strategy or mind game (which may exist, but usually does not).

A less ironic sense of the word is often used to refer to fictional storylines where characters come to power through intrigue, manipulation, and/or gaslighting, often mocking them if this plot device is used in a very over-the-top, unrealistic way. The rise of Palpatine is one of the most prominent examples, since manufacturing a civil war along with decades of political tension through several secret identities, four generations of brainwashed agents, and a mentally stunted alien senator is far from realism

Political moves on the international scene. Involving extremely complex assesments of the game situation that may lead to a stalemate or a runaway game. Imagine a chess game played in 3d in a cube configuration where time is a huge factor, and you get 4d chess.

The tendency of political commentators online to attribute the triumphs of their political idols over their opponents as carefully planned strategy and foresight when in reality the person had no such clairvoyance.