Zugzwangs in Chess Studies

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Haworth, G.McC.¹ | van der Heijden, H.M.J.F. | Bleicher, E.

Affiliations: [a] Reading, U.K. | [b] Deventer, the Netherlands | [c] Berlin, Germany

Note: [1] The University of Reading, Berkshire, UK, RG6 6AH. email: guy.haworth@bnc.oxon.org.

Abstract: Van der Heijden’s ENDGAME STUDY DATABASE IV, HHDBIV, is the definitive collection of 76,132 chess studies. The zugzwang position or zug, one in which the side to move would prefer not to, is a frequent theme in the literature of chess studies. In this third data-mining of HHDBIV, we report on the occurrence of sub-7-man zugs there as discovered by the use of CQL and Nalimov endgame tables (EGTs). We also mine those Zugzwang Studies in which a zug more significantly appears in both its White-to-move (wtm) and Black-to-move (btm) forms. We provide some illustrative and extreme examples of zugzwangs in studies.

DOI: 10.3233/ICG-2011-34205

Journal: ICGA Journal, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 82-88, 2011