Comments | r_a_l_i_g_h: Time Once Again for ...

r_a_l_i_g_h

Time Once Again for ...

Jun 10, 2008 12:47

...Raligh's Fanfic Vocabulary Word of the Day!
zugzwang (tsūk'tsväng')

n. A situation in a chess game in which a player is forced to make an undesirable or disadvantageous move ( Read more... )

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Comments 3

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r_a_l_i_g_h June 10 2008, 20:21:35 UTC

Comes from German - it's in the English dictionary now, though, so SCORE!

ankai June 10 2008, 23:35:25 UTC

Compulsion to move? That sounds like the way people would describe the nature of rock 'n' roll back in the 1950s. I am not sure how that translates from a win to a loss, unless one is talking about the destruction of civilisation.

r_a_l_i_g_h June 11 2008, 18:46:39 UTC

Heh. Well, the original German phrase apparently means "compulsion to move" - the connotation of the word in English usage is the idea of a situation where any move you take will put you in a worse position than you are now. Specifically, in chess where it's your turn, you must move, but doing so will weaken your position.