zugzwang
Americannoun
noun
verb
Etymology
Origin of zugzwang
First recorded in 1900–05; from German, equivalent to Zug “move, pull” + Zwang “constraint, obligation”
Explanation
A zugzwang is a situation in chess where a player is required to make a move but any move they can make worsens their position. For example, if a player only has two possible moves, and one move requires them to lose their queen and another to lose their rook, that's a zugzwang. The word zugzwang comes from the German zug, meaning "move," and zwang, meaning "force." So zugzwang occurs when a player is forced to make a move that is unfavorable because a game's rules demand a move be made. The word zugzwang is also sometimes used to describe any situation in which you must take action but all available actions are bad. It's a zugzwang if you must answer a question, but any answer you give will really upset someone.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One of his best games came against New Jersey GM Brandon Jacobson in Round 5, tying up his opponent with a neat positional zugzwang out of an unconventional King’s Indian set-up.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 8, 2021
He likened his dilemma to a "zugzwang" - the position where a player in chess or draughts faces only bad moves.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2021
"There's this position on the board called 'zugzwang' which means there's no good move to make ... and that's what we had yesterday, a zugzwang," he told Reuters.
From Reuters ● Apr. 28, 2021
He could still draw a pawn down until another blunder enabled Grischuk to create zugzwang, compulsion for the opponent to make a losing move, then launch a winning advance to queen.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 4, 2015
Eisenhower was about to be in zugzwang, and he didn’t even know it.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
