Zugzwang
Sign in to saveZugzwang (; ) is a situation found in chess and other turn-based games wherein one player is put at a disadvantage because of their obligation to make a move; a player is said to be "in zugzwang" when any legal move will worsen their position.
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Zugzwang in chess.jpg
Show 1 more fact
- Stack Exchange tag
- chess.stackexchange.com/tags/zugzwang
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~19 min read
Article
23 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Zugzwang in chess
- Examples from games
- Fischer vs. Taimanov, second match game
- Fischer vs. Taimanov, fourth match game
- Tseshkovsky vs. Flear, 1988
- Reciprocal zugzwang
- Trébuchet
- Mined squares
- Zugzwang helps the defense
- Zugzwang in middlegames and complex endgames
- Sämisch vs. Nimzowitsch
- Steinitz vs. Lasker
- Podgaets vs. Dvoretsky
- Fischer vs. Rossetto
- Zugzwang Lite
- Zugzwang required to win
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Zugzwang (; ) is a situation found in chess and other turn-based games wherein one player is put at a disadvantage because of their obligation to make a move; a player is said to be "in zugzwang" when any legal move will worsen their position.
Although the term is used less precisely in games such as chess, it is used specifically in combinatorial game theory to denote a move that directly changes the outcome of the game from a win to a loss. Putting the opponent in zugzwang is a common way to help the superior side win a game, and in some cases it is necessary in order to make the win possible. More generally, the term can also be used to describe a situation where passing the turn, if this were allowed, would be the best move.