Tempo & Parity
📋 What it is
Tempo is who is forced to move (and weaken their position); parity is the odd/even count that decides it.
🗣️ Coach says
Late in a game, being forced to move can RUIN your position — you would rather pass, but you cannot. Counting pieces and squares (parity: is the number odd or even?) tells you who will run out of safe moves first. This is called being put in "zugzwang".
🧠 Memory hook
Sometimes the worst thing is having to move. Count odd/even to see who cracks first.
😂 Giggle
Why did the double-corner feel like a fortress?
Because it's the hardest spot to be trapped in!
😲 Whoa!
The word for "forced to move into a worse position" is the German "zugzwang" — the same idea rules the endgame of both checkers and chess.
✅ Quick check: In a tight endgame, why can being forced to move be a disadvantage?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
If every legal move weakens your position, you would rather stay put — but you must move, so the obligation itself loses ("zugzwang").
When all moves worsen your position, the duty to move becomes the losing factor.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Set two kings each and shuffle them: notice how running out of safe moves — not losing a piece — can decide it.