>[!abstract] >Zugzwang is a chess term of German origin meaning "compulsion to move", describing a position in which any legal move a player makes will worsen their situation. Common in endgames, zugzwang occurs when maintaining the current position would be preferable, but the rules of chess require a move, forcing self-sabotage. The concept illustrates strategic inevitability and is sometimes used metaphorically to describe real-world situations—political, economic, or personal—where all available actions carry negative consequences. In both chess and life, zugzwang captures the tension between agency and constraint when inaction is not an option. >[!related] >- **North** (upstream):[[Game theory]] >- **West** (similar): [[Catch-22]] >- **East** (different): — >- **South** (downstream): [[Strategic paralysis]]