Hotch: And what did he say to you?
Reid: Zugzwang. It's a chess term. Describes a point in the chess game when a player realizes he'll inevitably be checkmated. He has to decide whether to resign, or to play through to the bitter end.
Reid: Zugzwang. It's a chess term. Describes a point in the chess game when a player realizes he'll inevitably be checkmated. He has to decide whether to resign, or to play through to the bitter end.
Added By: Douglas Wolfe
Date Added: 01/16/13
May 25th, 2013 3:55 AM
What a crock! How can they get something like this so wrong??
Zugzwang is a chess term -- but the definition is hardy what Reid says. Zugzwang comes from the German; "zug" is "move" and "zwang" is "to compel or to force". Zugzwang (correctly used) refers to the fact that a player is obligated to make a move; in certain situations the only moves available to a person are bad.
Now, being in zugzwang is a disadvantage, but it does not mean that "he'll inevitably be checkmated. He has to decide whether to resign, or to play through to the bitter end" (It's easy to visualize a position where being in zugzwang costs a player a chance at a win and a draw ensures.)
The fact that they kept spouting this error for several episodes made my skin crawl even more than the sort of grisly murders they are known for.