German word of the day: Der Zugzwang
Now a common chess term worldwide, you can use the word Zugzwang if you feel immense stress or pressure and have to make a tough decision.
The compound noun is made up of Zug meaning ‘move' and Zwang which means 'compulsion', so Zugzwang means ‘compulsion to move', but also describes the feeling of being in a tight spot.
According to chess historian Edward Winter, the term has been used in German chess circles since the 19th century and it is now one of the most important chess terms.
Zugzwang is a situation when a player is caught between a rock and a hard place because it’s their turn to play, but all the available moves are bad.
Any move the player who is in Zugzwang plays will clearly weaken his position, but as there is no possibility to skip a move in chess the player must make a decision; being in Zugzwang can often decide the outcome of the game.
Zugzwang can also be used in general in German to describe a situation where someone is under intense pressure to make a difficult decision.
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Examples:
in Zugzwang geraten
to be put on the spot
unter Zugzwang stehen
to be in a tight spot
jemanden in Zugzwang bringen
to put somebody on the spot
in Zugzwang sein
to be in a tight spot
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