zug·zwang

(tso͞ok′tsväng′)

A situation in a chess game in which a player is forced to make an undesirable or disadvantageous move.

[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).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

zugzwang

(German ˈtsuːktsvaŋ) chess

(Chess & Draughts) a position in which one player can move only with loss or severe disadvantage

(Chess & Draughts) (tr) to manoeuvre (one's opponent) into a zugzwang

[from German, from Zug a pull, tug + Zwang force, compulsion]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

zugzwang

Past participle: zugzwanged
Gerund: zugzwanging

Imperative
zugzwang
zugzwang

Present
I zugzwang
you zugzwang
he/she/it zugzwangs
we zugzwang
you zugzwang
they zugzwang

Preterite
I zugzwanged
you zugzwanged
he/she/it zugzwanged
we zugzwanged
you zugzwanged
they zugzwanged

Present Continuous
I am zugzwanging
you are zugzwanging
he/she/it is zugzwanging
we are zugzwanging
you are zugzwanging
they are zugzwanging

Present Perfect
I have zugzwanged
you have zugzwanged
he/she/it has zugzwanged
we have zugzwanged
you have zugzwanged
they have zugzwanged

Past Continuous
I was zugzwanging
you were zugzwanging
he/she/it was zugzwanging
we were zugzwanging
you were zugzwanging
they were zugzwanging

Past Perfect
I had zugzwanged
you had zugzwanged
he/she/it had zugzwanged
we had zugzwanged
you had zugzwanged
they had zugzwanged

Future
I will zugzwang
you will zugzwang
he/she/it will zugzwang
we will zugzwang
you will zugzwang
they will zugzwang

Future Perfect
I will have zugzwanged
you will have zugzwanged
he/she/it will have zugzwanged
we will have zugzwanged
you will have zugzwanged
they will have zugzwanged

Future Continuous
I will be zugzwanging
you will be zugzwanging
he/she/it will be zugzwanging
we will be zugzwanging
you will be zugzwanging
they will be zugzwanging

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been zugzwanging
you have been zugzwanging
he/she/it has been zugzwanging
we have been zugzwanging
you have been zugzwanging
they have been zugzwanging

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been zugzwanging
you will have been zugzwanging
he/she/it will have been zugzwanging
we will have been zugzwanging
you will have been zugzwanging
they will have been zugzwanging

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been zugzwanging
you had been zugzwanging
he/she/it had been zugzwanging
we had been zugzwanging
you had been zugzwanging
they had been zugzwanging

Conditional
I would zugzwang
you would zugzwang
he/she/it would zugzwang
we would zugzwang
you would zugzwang
they would zugzwang

Past Conditional
I would have zugzwanged
you would have zugzwanged
he/she/it would have zugzwanged
we would have zugzwanged
you would have zugzwanged
they would have zugzwanged

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Translations

Zugzwang

Mentioned in

zugunruhe

References in periodicals archive

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Showing a willing attitude, he built on a fair comeback outing at Kempton 19 days ago to edge out Zugzwang by a head under a forceful drive from Luke Morris.

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Mr Ratner told delegates that his first mistake of disparaging his products put him in "Zugzwang," which he explained was a term in chess for when whatever move you make is going to lead to your defeat.

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Zugzwang.That's the term for a situation in a chess game where a player is forced to make a move that will only worsen his position.

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Borisov claimed that these steps were called zugzwang in chess, adding that Bulgaria had no opportunity for a beneficial move and any move would be disadvantageous.

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The strategic blunders have led to real zugzwang. Any large-scale intervention in Syria gives Russia an impetus to intensify its efforts in Ukraine.

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Eduard Marquez published two books of poetry in Spanish before writing Zugzwang (1995), his first work in Catalan and the source of the fictions that appear here.

Mystification

He is convinced that Sargsyan is in Zugzwang, with each day of his rule causing more damage to Armenia and Nagorno-

Levon Ter-Petrosyan: There is no alternative to Serzh Sargsyan's resignation