Zugzwang
Zugzwang (German for "compulsion to move", pronounced [ˈtsuːktsvaŋ]) is a situation found in chess and other games wherein one player is put at a disadvantage because they must make a move when they would prefer to pass and not move. The fact that the player is compelled to move means that their position will become significantly weaker. A player is said to be "in zugzwang" when any possible move will worsen their position.
The term is also used in combinatorial game theory, where it means that it directly changes the outcome of the game from a win to a loss, but the term is used less precisely in games such as chess. Putting the opponent in zugzwang is a common way to help the superior side win a game, and in some cases, it is necessary in order to make the win possible.
The term "zugzwang" was used in German chess literature in 1858 or earlier, and the first known use of the term in English was by World Champion Emanuel Lasker in 1905. The concept of zugzwang was known to players many centuries before the term was coined, appearing in an endgame study published in 1604 by Alessandro Salvio, one of the first writers on the game, and in shatranj studies dating back to the early 9th century, over 1000 years before the first known use of the term.
Zugzwang (musical work)
Zugzwang is a musical work by Juan Maria Solare.
It is subtitled "Fifteen authentic miniatures about the strategy of chess" for quartet: violin (or flute), alto Saxophone (or clarinet), double bass (or cello) and piano (or synthesizer). Cologne, 29 January - 6 February 1999. [3'15" in length]. Zugzwang is where a player (especially in chess) is forced to make a disadvantageous move because it is their turn. The work is dedicated to the chess grandmaster Lothar Schmid.
Podcasts:
Zugzwang
ALBUMS
- Symbiosis released: 1998
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by Psykosonik
Imagine
by: Psykosonikimagine there's no heaven
its easy if you try
no hell below us
above us only sky
imagine all the people
living for today
imagine there's no countries
it isn't hard to do
nothing to kill or die for
and no religion too
imagine all the people
living life in peace
you may say I'm a dreamer
but I'm not the only one
i hope some day you'll join us
and the world will be as one
imagine all possessions
i wonder if you can
no need for greed or hunger
a brotherhood or man
imagine all the people
sharing all the world
you may say I'm a dreamer
but I'm not the only one
i hope some day you'll join us