Zugzwang is a position in which every move would make the position worse, and the player that has to move would be better off if he could pass and not move at all. But in chess no such thing as skipping a move is allowed. You are forced to move.




In the picture above whoever has to make a move loses.

We have seen some examples of zugzwang before:

• The Trébuchet was in fact a lesson about the mutual zugzwang.
• The game Fischer – Taimanov (1971) contains some zugzwangs.
• Opposition can be seen as an example of Zugzwang.
• And in fact most of the endgames that we have discussed before, like the mating with the rook, make use of this zugzwang concept. 

Next lesson: Make a plan.