Weaving the Zugzwang Web

An instructive endgame with a beautiful zugzwang theme.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• fatandmad
• chess
• endgame
• zugzwang
• costas
• karayiannis
• bob
• turnham
• letsplaychess.com
• echecs
• schach
• ajedrez
• scacchi
• schaak
• xadrez
• шахмат
• 棋

[EikeKehrel]

good technique ! you could have won without aiming for the second zugzwang-position... once you got your king to b3 I would have played Bc8 - sacrifice on b7 followed by Kxg7 Kxh6 and so on but of coarse zugzwang is more elegant (no idea why I'm writing things both of us know allready.. can't help it)

[FatAndMad]

thank you Eike. Yes, I loved this game as the Zugzwang theme is elegant. As for you suggestion, I am having problems following your notation. Bc8? Do you mean Bf1 followed by Bxg2?

[furrer08]

Does 41. g3 work?

[FatAndMad]

the video starts after white's 41st move? Anyhow, I don't think sacrificing this pawn by white is a good idea - black gets a very advanced passed pawn.

[ichderjens]

Nice videos, but please buy you a new microphone... your sound is very bad and quiet! :)

[jrobichess]

Great video. Awesome positional play to give your opponent nothing but bad positional choices!

[yellowman88]

Thank you. THis video helped a lot. Now i completely understand this concept. Basically the point where you lose.

[mraxeguy]

Entertaining and instructive as usual.

[scientologyftw]

An apt example well demonstrated. Very educational video. Spot on, 5 stars. :)

[DefenceSpeech]

I used to know a German girl with a nice zugzwang.

[Ah4b]

Since i am German i always wonder how 'Zugzwang' made it into the official English chess-language. Anyway its a nice word and it means the state of being forced to move.

If you want to pronounce it correctly you have to say something like "tsoog-tswahng".

Please keep your videos coming, i like them :-)

[EikeKehrel]

oups.. after ... b5 2.Ke1 Kb3 3.Kd2 i wanted to play Bf1 or Bf5 followed by Bf1 and Bxg2 but it's all rubbish , white can just play Kf1-g1-f1-g1 and I'll never get the g- and the h- pawn. I'm sorry, I wrote something stupid. I tried another plan: 1) placing the bishop on e6 or c4 2) walking to a5 with the king 3) offer to exchange bishops on b5 or playing Ba6 but it doesnt' work because once I move my bishop to e6 white can play Be2.. seems as if your method is the only way to win this position

[EikeKehrel]

well.. as dmz said, "Luft" means "air" but of coarse you can use it the way you did. Luft means air, means breathing freely, means space ... ... in terms of chess sometimes you need to create a "Luftloch" for your king when he is under attack. "Loch" is the translation of "hole" so when you use the word "luftloch" you are in a situation where the only possibility to get air is breathing through this hole.

[trixapete]

why is it called zugzwang?