Zugzwang - A Novel

Yesterday, The Observer Review began an interesting little project. They will publish a novel in weekly instalments on the web (and presumably in print form as well). Ronan Bennett is the unlucky author for this monumental effort.

The novel is of interest to chess players if only for its title: "Zugzwang". By way of introduction, the paper describes the title as:

A chess term derived from the German: Zug (move) + Zwang (compulsion, obligation). It is used to describe a position in which a player is reduced to a state of utter helplessness; he is obliged to move, but every move only serves to make his position even worse.

The first 2 chapters can be read here.