Word of the Day for Tuesday, July 19, 2011
zugzwang \TSOOK-tsvahng\, noun:
A situation in which a player is limited to moves that have a damaging effect.
The B.O. has made such a mess of the economy that he has metaphorically painted himself into an economic corner, created his own economic zugzwang!
--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog
Oh, he understands his position: he is in trouble, he is faced with the zugzwang to end all zugzwangs.-- Doug Dorst, The Surf Guru
Party rulers in China are trapped in a position that chess players deeply fear - zugzwang - where any move made puts you at disadvantage.-- Vitaliy Katsenelson, "How China Will Crash And Burn," Forbes, July, 2011
Zugzwang combines two German words, zug, "move," and zwang, "constraint."
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