Zugzwang: Use It to Tie Up Your Opponent

Chess is a game of rules, whether you want to follow them or not. If you are new to chess, you might be surprised to discover that you cannot pass your turn in the game. It’s against those rules! Chess is among the games in which one player is forced to play a move if it is legally possible. That means you could end up in a scenario where every move is dangerous. You stumbled into a situation that no one wants to be in, where every turn is the wrong direction. If no move is legally possible, then you may be in checkmate or stalemate. If there is a legal move, but every move is bad for your position, then you are in zugzwang.

What is Zugzwang?

The term zugzwang means “compulsion to move” in German. Chess is an international game, which means that there are terms in chess, like en passant, a French term, or Zugzwang, a German term, that have become well-known to everyone in chess. Think of zugzwang as being at a traffic light that has turned green, but the traffic hasn’t stopped, and you have to drive forward even though doing so will put you in danger. In chess, there are times when you have to make a move even if that move is bad for your position.

When Does Zugzwang Matter in Chess?

While we always have to make a move, it doesn’t usually worsen our position. When does Zugzwang matter? The time when Zugzwang becomes the most important is in the endgame. This is usually the case because there are fewer pieces on the board, making it more likely that whatever pieces you do have do not help your position. In locked-up middlegames, where pieces cannot move, it is also possible for there to be a Zugzwang in the position.

The Opening

Zugzwang is much less likely to happen when there are more pieces on the board. This means that it is very unlikely to happen in the opening portion of the game. "There are occasions when a player must make a move that puts them at a disadvantage due to a tactic or a check. However, zugzwang typically does not occur in the opening moves of the game."

Examples

Let's look at some examples of zugzwang.

When I teach zugzwang, I like to use this example first, because the result is very clear. If you've already learned checkmate, the threat becomes clear, revealing how White is at a disadvantage. If it were White's turn, they would face zugzwang, forced to move their king, which allows Black to capture the bishop and deliver checkmate. Given the option, White would prefer to “pass” their turn, since any move they make negatively impacts their position. Here is the question, let's say it is blacks turn instead, how can black use Zugzwang here to set up the same checkmate?

Here is a more classic example of an endgame with Zugzwang. If you are new to chess, there are many important basic endgames to learn, including learning how to win a king and pawn endgame. In this position, white needs to play Ke6, putting the king in front of the pawn. This will put black into Zugzwang, where they now have to move their king and allow white to control the promotion squares.

Are These Examples Zugzwang?

Take a look at the position below. Is this an example of zugzwang? Ultimately, determining whether a position is zugzwang or not requires calculation. Don't make a beginner mistake, try to calculate this endgame and see.

Because black is forced to make a move, they have to play the unfortunate pawn break by pushing their pawn forward. After some calculation, we see that white is able to promote with checkmate. What about this position?

While this looks similar to one of the previous zugzwang examples, if white is forced to play Ka1, the rook takes the bishop, it is not checkmate because the knight would recapture. Therefore, white is not in zugzwang.

Just because a position is bad, and you may feel like you have no good moves, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are in zugzwang. The position above is objectively winning for white because of the placement of their king. All of blacks moves are losing, but not because of their compulsion to move. 

Morphy’s Famous Zugzwang Puzzle

The term "zugzwang" gained widespread recognition in English chess literature after the 1930s, thanks to the publication of the English edition of Nimzowitsch's My System in 1929. The great Paul Morphy is recognized for creating the position shown below during his childhood.

This is a classic example of zugzwang that leads to a clever answer. Can you spot the move? White plays 1.Ra6, and Black is in zugzwang! They must allow mate on the next move with pawn takes rook and b7# or any bishop move followed by 2.Rxa7# ending the game.

The Importance of Zugzwang in Endgames

The most important place to understand this compulsion to move is in the endgame. In chess, endgames can hinge on minute details that can completely alter the game, shifting it from a draw to a win or loss. Understanding these small details and how you can use them to your advantage will help you improve.

Taking Opposition

King and pawn endgames often come down to who can take the opposition and have their king appropriately placed to either support or stop a passed pawn. Opposition is a situation found in chess where both kings face each other with one square between them. Zugzwang can happen when a player trying to stop a pawn from promoting is forced to move out of the way, because the other side has the correct opposition.

Here, white has successfully taken opposition, forcing the black king to vacate the area with their next move. This means that black is currently in zugzwang. If you are unfamiliar with this position, I recommend practicing it repeatedly in an online trainer like this one on Lichess. Endgame study is one of the best applications of a chess engine for a beginner player.

This is another endgame example of zugzwang involving kings and pawns, which can mean the difference between wins and draws.

This is a position where whose move it is completely changes who is winning. The trick in this position is not to move closer to defend your pawn immediately, as that will lead to a loss of the game. Instead, you can play a move that puts your opponent into zugzwang, where they will be forced to move away from defending their pawn. White could play Ke5 first, then after the black king moves to g3, the white king moves down to e3, forcing the black king into zugzwang and making them move away from defending the pawn.

Avoiding Zugzwang

While the compulsion to move is not something a chess player needs to be constantly aware of, they should always be thinking ahead and making sure they don’t get caught in such an unfortunate position. So, what can you do to avoid zugzwang? First of all, practice your basic endgames. Pick up Silman's Complete Endgame Course and drill endgames with online resources. This will help you learn the patterns that lead to zugzwang in the same way you learn tactical patterns. If you want to take advantage of Zugzwang more often, make sure you are thinking outside the box and are aware of waiting moves that force your opponent to play into a bad position.

The Opposite of Zugzwang?

Put yourself into positions with lots of options! Zugzwang becomes an issue when you are out of choices and are forced into only bad ones. That means you need to develop your pieces, keep your active pieces ready, and instead of having the compulsion to move into a bad position, you will have the opposite problem of having too many good moves to pick between.