|
« TAP TO LOG IN
|
Play online chess!
Important Kaufman review on material imbalances
« Back to club forum| From | Message | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
 Important Kaufman review on material imbalancesI've copied and pasted the above links from one one my past forum discussions.Its not necessarily designed for complete beginners to absorb,but it may become very useful as time goes on.I will get into more detail as time goes on,but this post is to get things started.Its important to realize that there is a fluctuation in the "point value"of your pieces depending upon the position of that piece on the board.So a Knight for example,may not have the "book value"of 3 points if it ends up on the edge files of a or h.Restricted movement can many times reduce its "value".So whats important about that?Well,if your opponents knight(for example)is froze or placed on a square that deems its value less,then you could possibly "exploit"your opponents weakness by...1.Making your own Knight(s)more aggressively mobile giving you the "initiative" or 2.Placing increased pressure on the open squares that your opponents Knight may not be able to defend or attack.This can be done by placing your own pieces on those open squares or attacking from a distance(bearing down pressure on those squares). On a separate note...basically,Kaufmans assessment of the edge pawns is very accurate and makes alot of sense.Any piece who's movement and/or capture ability as been restricted(atleast temporarily) basically follows a logical conclusion that the value of that piece is reduced.That value of course,can move + or - as the game progresses and doubled pawn value changes as well, depending upon what other pieces are present.But the edge files for pawns normally reduces a pawns value.There are many examples where the importance of edge pawns come into play and can lead to an advantage and victory,but that is not what Kaufman is saying in his article.He is saying that the pawns value is automatically less on the edge file....but its what you do with the edge pawns LATER on in the game that can lead to an advantage or failure if your not skilled enough utilizing the proper tactics to overcome any fractional disadvantage. The Knight is another perfect example when placed on the a or h edge file.The value of the Knight is reduced many,many times for obvious reasons....it now has its movement and opponent piece capture ability reduced to 50% since it cannot move to the right or left depending upon what file its on(a or h).Does this mean that your game is at a disadvantage?Not necessarily,but many times it can lead to a disadvantage if the Knight is not moved off that file pronto,especially in the game opening.Most of the time it is logically better to have a Knight that has its movement NOT restricted,than restricted on an edge file...thus the "value"of the Knight on an edge file is normally reduced,just like edge pawns.The purpose of Kaufmans accurate article is to explain the literal values of pieces in certain situations.It does not contend that your game will be at a disadvantage with doubled edge pawns or a knight on the edge file...but by the same token it may very well lead to a game loss for those players who do not know how to contend with those pieces as the game progresses with the proper tactics and rating abilities. |
||
|
Advancing Kaufmans story 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 But it is important to note that the doubling of pawns in the opening is a far cry from doubled pawns in the endgame or in the center of the board!The pawn assessment value for the game above for black on the c file is extremely negligible and may be reduced to about a .08 value overall. Exceptions: 1.Doubled pawns on the a and h files will reduce a pawns value to about 50% due to the fact that those pawns cannot capture more than one way. 2.Doubled pawns near or at the endgame in the CENTER of the board(e & d files) are subject and prone to more open attacks(especially the base pawn with no support). Thus...the pawn value decreases(not all but in most cases) to about a 0.9 So..keep your doubled pawns OFF the edge files and try NOT to obtain doubled pawns in the center of the board,at least by mid or endgame! |
