4 ms·
The metaphoric meaning of being under “Zugzwang” in German is very similar to “forcing someone’s hand”, from the perspective of the one whose hand is being forc
by layer8 6mo ago
The metaphoric meaning of being under “Zugzwang” in German is very similar to “forcing someone’s hand”, from the perspective of the one whose hand is being forced. It means being forced to act, as opposed to not taking action.
- shmeeed 6mo agoYeah, and I find it pretty interesting that the meanings are not 100% congruent.
- layer8 6mo agoThey are congruent in the sense of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47988365 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47988365.
- seanhunter 6mo agoThat’s what it means in chess. When in zugzwang, you’re in a position where anything you do makes things worse. You would like to make “no move”, but “no move”[1] isn’t an option, so you are forced to do something. [1] In chess, unlike say go, you can’t pass your move. You have to do something.
- layer8 6mo agoThe corresponding meaning in chess is that you are forced to move a specific peace that you’d normally prefer not to move. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47988365 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47988365.