Zugzwang describes a chess position in which your little army appears to be in good shape: The king is protected, no weaknesses apparent — unless you have to make a move. And it’s your move. The ...

In most two-player games, it is generally better to win the toss and go first. And if you are sharing a pizza with someone and want to have a larger portion, it’s usually better to grab the first ...

I first encountered the word Zugzwang in a 1985 New York Times Magazine column by the late William Safire. It’s a chess term that means “compelled to move, but imperiled by doing so.” The word’s ...

Most games that pit two players or teams against each other require one of them to make the first play. This results in a built-in asymmetry, and the question arises: Should you go first or second?

This originally appeared as part of our daily coronavirus newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. COVID-19 has put us in a state of “zugzwang.” It’s a chess term, applied to the ...

There is a situation in chess called zugzwang in which any legal move leaves the player worse off (in other words, he’d be better off to pass his turn). Oftentimes, in fact, the zugzwang is mutual: ...

One of the most paradoxical and powerful ideas in chess is Zugzwang. This term of German origin literally means "compulsion to move", where Zug means 'move' and Zwang means 'compulsion' It describes a ...

"Zugzwang," Ronan Bennett's sixth novel, opens in a St. Petersburg suffused with violence. It is 1914; Bolsheviks, Polish terrorists and pro-German authoritarians all jockey for control of the city.

“Zugzwang” is the term for a move in a game, like chess, wherein one of the players is at a disadvantage because they must make a move. By making this move – because they can’t pass – the player’s ...