Meaning & use
zugzwang
A situation in chess, or by extension in strategy generally, where any move a player makes worsens their position.
See it in a sentence
The grandmaster resigned once he realized he was in zugzwang and had no safe move left.
In the negotiation, the smaller company found itself in a kind of zugzwang, forced to accept unfavorable terms.
A note on using this word
Zugzwang is a German loanword adopted directly into English chess terminology, with no single-word English equivalent.
Words with a similar meaning
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