The Deeper Side of Chess: What Makes a Position($17.99Value)

Description

This is a unique book, a book on chess evaluation and understanding, that investigates closely 800 typical chess positions, reaching conclusions as to the objective outcome while attaching hyperaccurate Stockfish scores. In this manner, after reading the careful explanations first, analysing in detail the available board factors, favouring each side, you can gain deeper grasp of what defines the position, which side is winning, if any, with perfect play, and what are the probabilities a win is achieved. What is so unique about this book? Well, for the first time in chess history, courtesy of extremely powerful and very rarely erring Stockfish chess engine we might be certain a specific position is won for one side, or objectively draw. In the past engines were far less accurate in their assessments, far less perfect, so that relying on them often awarded wrong results, mixing up winners and losers, while human authors, even top grandmasters and the world champions, have been pretty much inaccurate in their assessments too quite frequently. In actual fact, humans rarely if at all designate a winner in their comments, happy to just indicate one side stands better, or the game can likely end in a draw. Likely, but not certain. With Stockfish everything is certain, when the score is higher than 100 cps (and a centipawn, cp, cps in plural, is one hundredth of a full pawn material, the measure used to assess positions) for one side, that side will be winning with perfect play, lower score designating draw outcome with perfect play. Of course, a score of 50 cps, or half a pawn, indicates a borderline situation, when the chances of the stronger side winning or reaching a draw are equally split, 80 cps edge for one side might mean the likelihood of that side converting increasing, while a meagre 20 cps score would indicate chances of a draw have increased significantly. Positive scores will indicate white stands better, negative scores will favour the black side. Thus -135 cps is won for black, while 65 cps awards white decent edge, still not won. Larger scores will indicate crushing advantage. As the book progresses, and people get the feel of the narrative, explanations become more comprehensive, pointing out to more available position details. Every single position will be analysed in terms of the available board factors, patterns, bonuses or penalties, suiting each rival, both strategic and dynamic. Those factors represent the essence of the position, while their accumulation and precise count gives the objective score. Now, it is very useful that 4000 elo Stockfish monster engine gives those scores, because in this manner we can be pretty certain what Stockfish claims will be correct. For the first time in history. And when you add the careful explanations, the book is indeed quite useful as reference in relation to near perfect analysis and evaluation of any random chess position. You might not trust me, but you should trust Stockfish, as it is so accurate, near perfect, both tactically and strategically. And thus, browsing through these 800 positions, featuring a very wide range of contrasting situations, from wild attacks to extremely deep strategy and material imbalances, you will be able to suddenly get a quite complete picture of what chess is all about. How the different structures are to be perceived. Because the ability to assess chess positions well, perfectly, is directly related to your strength of play, simply because people tend to pick those positions they deem favourable, in view of certain factors, when actually their position understanding might be quite incorrect and lop-sided. By browsing this book, you will learn to select the correct factors, the correct positions, and that in turn will significantly reflect on your playing strength. I would advise browsing these 800 positions a couple of times, repetition makes perfect, and then you are ready to fight for the world championship. No kidding.