Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A situation in a chess game in which a player is forced to make an undesirable or disadvantageous move.
Wiktionary
- n. A situation in which every move available to the player is disadvantageous.
- n. in figurative uses
Etymologies
- German Zugzwang : Zug, pull, move (from Middle High German zuc, pull, from Old High German, from ziohan, to pull; see deuk- in Indo-European roots) + Zwang, compulsion (from Middle High German twanc, from Old High German).
Examples
“The political analyst Nikolai Petrov has described Mr. Putin's predicament using the chess term "zugzwang," in which a player sees only moves that will damage his position, and yet does not have the option of passing.”
“zugzwang" chess position, Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said in his weekly letter on Friday.”
“To achieve it, black has to use the zugzwang, forcing the rook or the king out of their best defensive set-up.”
The Huffington Post: Lubomir Kavalek: The Hand of God in Chess?
“Black is in zugzwang: any king's move allows 2.h7 and white queens.”
The Huffington Post: Lubomir Kavalek: Winners of the New in Chess/Huffington Post Chess Contest
“Kg4 Black is in zugzwang and must lose the pawn on g6.”
The Huffington Post: Lubomir Kavalek: Pitching a Perfect Chess Game
“How it tied up Karpov's pieces almost to the point of zugzwang?”
The Huffington Post: Lubomir Kavalek: The Most Treacherous Defense in Chess
“When he reached zugzwang, he resisted the urge to upend the chess board.”
“In chess, such situations are described as zugzwang, or the necessity to move when every decision has negative consequences.”
“The chess term is zugzwang not zuzwang, and it means that all possible moves make your position worse.”
“There may be a ring of partial truth to it but the idea that the government is effectively in zugzwang when it comes to choosing its members is not credible.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘zugzwang’.
mechanolatry German -- compulsion to move Jan 28, 2009
chained_bear AbraxasZugzwang would be so proud. :) Oct 26, 2007
rocksinmypockets I am going to say this word over, and over, and over. Just cuz it's fun. Oct 26, 2007
seanahan A term used in chess to describe the position where a player is forced to make a move, where his best move, if possible, would be to pass. Dec 22, 2006