It's a term I coined to represent a developer who considers their time in software engineering to be like a game, something like chess.

They think about their moves, strategy, and how to outwit people who'd try to hinder their progress (project managers, agile evangelists, product owners, CTOs, et al.) through the use of intelligence rather than physical strength (defenestration of opponents).

A progressive developer likes to work on what they like, looks for market rates, and always knows that HR is working for the company first.

Many of my software engineering articles use the term. Hope that helps :)