What is the English maxim for "Rather losing a material / piece, than losing a tempo / an initiative"? Chess, Xiangqi (Chinese Chess) and Go all highly value the tempo/initiative.

The Chinese saying "宁失一子,不失一先" literally means 


  It is better to lose material/piece, than a tempo/initiative.


(宁=prefer; 失=lose; 一=one; 子=piece (e.g. pawn, rook, knight); 不=not; 先=initiative, tempo, momentum)

I understand the principle/tactic, but I don't know how to express it idiomatically. Is there an English maxim for it?



If there hasn't been an established proverb in English, we may invent some.

For example,

@T.J.Crowder:

"Damn the material, full speed ahead!"

@Remellion:

"Speed over greed" 

Pros: rhythm.

Cons: The saying emphasizes to accept your own pieces' loss; while "greed" is about taking your opponent's pieces.
I might not understand the Chinese idiom correctly, but to me it sounds like--

"Lose the battle but win the war"

--which has the meaning of, it is better to sacrifice some small thing for the bigger picture (to me, that sounds like the crux of the Chinese idiom you shared).