Are you ready to take your chess game to the next level? One of the most critical skills a chess player can possess is the ability to analyze any position on the board. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced player, mastering this skill will greatly enhance your chances of success. This tool helps you improve your skills to evaluate any given position. This guide will delve deep into the art of analyzing chess positions, offering valuable insights, tips, and techniques to help you become a formidable chess strategist.
Things to consider in evaluating any position
There are many factors and it totally depends on the position that how we analyze it. One of the standard and accepted way is to evaluate Imbalances in the given position. There are 7 factors that we need to look at while evaluating imbalances in chess position:
Pawn Structure
The pawns are like brothers and should support each other, which is why pawn chains are considered the best structure and your opponent will always look to break your pawn structure. Hence the side with better pawn structure will win this factor.
Space Advantage
In Chess Space means the square available to move. The side with more space will be able to move pieces more easily than the one with less space.
Double Bishops
Bishops are preferred over knights when a position is open and knights are preferred when a position is closed. But when you have a double bishop, you control both light and dark squares, and you eventually win the battle as almost all times you will have space advantage over one colored square.
Better Minor Piece
Bishops and Knights are called minor pieces in chess and Queen and rooks are considered as Major pieces. A minor piece is considered better when it covers more squares, for example, a knight on sixth rank supported by a pawn(s) or a Bishop on an open long diagonal is considered a good piece.
Material Advantage
All pieces in chess except the king are considered as material. So material advantage in chess simply means more pieces. The side with more pieces will have a material advantage. One more thing to note here is if the material is equal but your opponent can't use one of their pieces (for example a blocked rook) then you will have a virtual material advantage as your opponent will be playing without that particular piece. For example, look at the below position.
Black can't move its knight until it moves one of its pawns, and because of the knight the rook is also stuck, whereas white can move both knights and rooks freely, Although white and black have the same material count, white has a virtual material advantage as black can't move his knight as moving knight will end up losing a pawn.
Control over an open Rank, Open Fyle, or Weak square
A rook enjoys an open Fyle or an Open Rank. Hence a rook placed in such a square from where it has more control over an open rank or an open fyle is considered as an active rook. The side with such rooks will win this battle.
Developed pieces
A piece that is not on its original square ( where it was at the start of the game) is considered a developed piece. So the side with more developed pieces has a lead in development and wins the battle of development.
Potential Initiatives
An Initiative is a chance to act and force your opponent to play leads to a worse position (for the opponent). For example, A knight developed in such a way that it attacks an undefended piece. Or a chance to create an attack on the opponent's army or King.
King Safety
The king's safety is always important as It is the King who decides the game. King's safety is of utmost priority. For example, a player may ignore the attack on the Queen but a check to the king forces the player to protect it first. This is why the king's safety is important. A safer king will allow the player to move its pieces with more confidence.
