German

Noun

Zugzwang m ‎(genitive Zugzwangs, no plural)

1. A situation where somebody is forced to act, but would prefer to remain passive. This is most common when a politician does not want to touch some controversial issue, but his/her political opponents work to create a situation where he/she must act.
2. (chess) zugzwang occurs when one player is put at a disadvantage because he/she has to make a move.

Descendants

• English: zugzwang
• Russian: цугцванг ‎(cugcváng)

English

Noun

zugzwang ‎(countable and uncountable, plural zugzwangs or zugzwänge)

1. (chess) A situation in which a player is forced to make a disadvantageous move.
2. in figurative uses
   • 2002: Carl Friedrich Graumann and Werner Kallmeyer [eds.], Perspective and Perspectivation in Discourse, page 174

     An explanation for this phenomenon may be that speech acts that include instructions (e.g., a command or request) show a higher level of activity than speech acts of assertion; the ethnomethodological analysis of conversation speaks of conversational Zugzwänge:²⁴ a request, a question or a command demands a reaction of the addressee.

Usage notes

Zugzwang typically refers to a situation in which a player is forced to make a disadvantageous move though he or she would prefer not to make a move.

Alternative forms

• Zugzwang

Translations

French

Etymology

From German.

Noun

zugzwang m ‎(plural zugzwangs)

1. (chess) zugzwang