Critical Positions

A position which is hard to evaluate but the evaluation will mean a lot for the evaluation of the whole variation. 

Thank you!  And not to try and milk the question for all it’s worth, but if I were looking at the computer’s evaluation of a critical position, what would be different about it versus other positions?  Would there be many top moves; very few, or perhaps only one? Otherwise?

The term is pre-computer. Probably a critical position today will have many (at least two) different and committing (not just transposing) moves with almost identical evaluations.

The positions where the computer evaluation flucturates influenced by the horizon could be a new type of critical positions. 

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Toldsted, is it possible that the 'critical position' persists for more than one move? For example, in a hypothetical game there is a critical position on move 24. After both players move, can there be another critical position on move 25, move 26 and so on...? Are there any limits?

Could be. But normal there will be a natural development after the first move in the critical position, at then a new critical position could appear later.

The term is used to mention positions that require more work than other positions to evaluate/understand, so if every position would be critical then we still don't know where to put our efforts.

If you arrived in a critical position it normally means that your decision will make an impact to the game for at least around the next 10 moves( or even for the whole rest of the game). If i take a 'free pawn' in front of the opponents rook( which opens up the file for the rook and gives him more activity/counterplay) this unbalanced position will be around for quite some time.

Hi all