Zugzwang, from Zubin Al Genubi
In chess, zugzwang refers to a situation where a player has to move, but every move worsens the player's position. When a portfolio manager's risk limits are hit or losses are thought to be unacceptable, the situation is quite the same. - Hari Krishnan
The Immortal Zugzwang Game is a chess game between Friedrich Sämisch and Aron Nimzowitsch, played in Copenhagen in March 1923. It gained its name because the final position is sometimes considered a rare instance of zugzwang occurring in the middlegame. According to Nimzowitsch, writing in the Wiener Schachzeitung in 1925, this term originated in "Danish chess circles".
Nils Poertner writes:
on this note (lack of imagination), see David Hand's probability lever concept:
The Law of the Probability Lever essentially states that slight changes in the circumstances or assumptions of a statistical model can dramatically change the calculated probabilities of events.
Larry Williams states:
ZUGZWANG The life of a trader in one word—always in too early or out too late, also out too early or too late.
Comments
Jeffrey Watson on January 12, 2026 3:13 pm
My mistake has always been paying too much and selling too cheap.