Monday, August 13, 2018

Chess Club Rolling Along and How to Analyze a Chess Position

The player on the right is working on a plan!

The Chess Club is still rolling along. Sorry for the delay in posting. 
Join us for our Kid's Night this evening!

Now for some practical advice:

The question facing us in a chess game is “what shall I do in this position”?
To answer this question, we have to first ask, “How do you evaluate a position”? There are three fundamental principles in analyzing a position; force, mobility and King safety.
Mobility is broken into two parts; pawn structure and freedom of pieces.
Add the tactical situation at any moment and we have five basic questions:
1.      Who is ahead in material?
2.      Are my pawns well placed compared to my opponent?
3.      How much freedom of action do my pieces have and is my mobility better than my opponent?
4.      Are the Kings safe or exposed to attack?
5.      What are the threats for me and my opponent?
Once these questions are answered, we can evaluate the position as superior, equal, or inferior, form plans and proceed accordingly.
Advantages are either permanent or temporary. A permanent advantage is usually in pawn structure, but they can change with incorrect play.  
A mobility advantage is usually more temporary.
A player must often decide if he wants to stay in a middle game or go into an endgame (usually by trading queens).
Who has what advantages and how strong or permanent those advantages are, will make your decision on which road to take.

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