Zugzwang:
In Chess, Zugzwang is a position in which for the player who’s move it is, any move they make would make the position worse. The player that has to move would be better off not making a move at all. But of course in the game of Chess, there is not option to pass or skip your turn to move. You are forced to move a piece. [The Chess Journal]
In research I noted there are similar definitions on a more generic basis. Noted in “As Ukraine’s fortunes improve, it’s zugzwang time for Putin,” George F. Will, WaPo:
A former senior Russian government official, writing anonymously for the Economist, says the war Russia started has reached a situation known in chess as “zugzwang,” when every move worsens the position. By the end of this year, two current unknowns might be known: how Putin might lash out in response to the pain of Ukraine’s military revival. And how Trump might lash out in response to the painful (to him) fact that, refuting his clairvoyance, Ukraine holds good and improving cards.
