To discuss high-stakes strategy and sacrifices, this lesson uses the context of chess to explore forced actions.
Expressing Forced Actions (вынужден)
To express that someone is compelled by external circumstances to do something (they are "forced to"), use the short-form adjective вынужден followed by an infinitive.
Because it is an adjective, its ending must agree with the subject in gender and number:
| Gender / Number | Form |
|---|---|
| Masculine | вынужден |
| Feminine | вынуждена |
| Neuter | вынуждено |
| Plural | вынуждены |
| Judging by the position, he is forced to make a move with the pawn. | Судя по позиции, он вынужден сделать ход пешкой. |
Past Tense Forced Actions
To say someone "was forced to" do something, add the past tense of быть (был, была, было, были) before вынужден. Both the auxiliary verb and the adjective must agree with the subject.
| My opponent was forced to sacrifice the queen. | Мой соперник был вынужден пожертвовать ферзя. |
| I wanted to declare check, but was forced to agree to a draw. | Я хотел было объявить шах, но был вынужден согласиться на ничью. |
Plurals and General Contexts
When the subject is plural, simply use the plural form вынуждены. This structure is very common in formal or professional contexts outside of chess, too.
| Due to a mistake they are forced to change strategy. | В связи с ошибкой они вынуждены менять стратегию. |
Reading the Board
High-stakes chess provides great vocabulary for strategy, such as гроссмейстер (grandmaster), соперник (opponent), защита (defense), шах (check), and мат (checkmate).
| The grandmaster is forced to think about defense in order not to get checkmate. | Гроссмейстер вынужден думать о защите, чтобы не получить мат. |
| His defense isn't working, and the grandmaster is forced to surrender. | Его защита не работает, и гроссмейстер вынужден сдаться. |
| One bad move, and your opponent will declare check and checkmate. | Один плохой ход, и твой соперник объявит шах и мат. |
| The next move with the queen is checkmate. | Следующий ход ферзём — это мат. |