Did those songs you were hearing end? Would you like to hear them again?

Ummm, Didn't We Already Cover This? You Losin' it Jeremy?

Yes, in fact, we have covered this, but, since zugzwang was such an advanced topic earlier, and considering it is a tactic, I figured we should cover it once again, with our new-found knowledge. Now, I know this probably seems rather tedious, but this'll just be a short installment, I promise.

What's That Again?

Refresher: Zugzwang is a German word which means compulsion to move. It occurs when you find yourself wishing you could pass your turn because every move you might make in the current position will actually make it worse! While it seems that such a position might be very rare to occur, very subtle zugzwangs are common. While one might achieve anything from them unless the move forces the player to, for lack of a better word, blunder.

Well, that's it, that's all I wanted to go over. What was the point? Just to make you aware that zugzwang is in fact a tactic, and didn't want to leave it out. To the ambitious reader, I now refer you back to the original zugzwang page, I bet the examples are much easier to understand!

lucky individuals have learned how to play better chess since this page hit the web on 06/28/97.