Somewhere between zounds and zulu in the dictionary you may find zugzwang. It is a recent migrant from German and has not quite made it into all English language dictionaries. But it is a very useful word, particularly in chess circles, and has a spelling that makes Scrabble players squirm with delight.

Zugzwang is a chess term for compulsion to move. It describes situations where players are forced to weaken their position by making a undesirable or disadvantageous move. In chess there is not the option of passing or not moving.

It comes from the German words Zug, meaning to pull or move and Zwang meaning compulsion.

Arthur Bisguir, a chess grand master described the word:

Zugzwang is like getting trapped on a safety island in the middle of a highway when a thunderstorm starts. You don’t want to move but you have to.