Why Having Equal Material Doesn't Matter - Chess Forums

PhilipFry3000

Apr 15, 2020

0

#1

This position was reached in a game I played against a lower rated player. Like many people when I first started playing it was a challenge to understand chess concepts. One being the concept of "equal" material. Another one is when to capture and not capture a piece. Below illustrates this and many different topics. Here is a quick way to evaluate the position. Before looking further just ask if you were Black what would you want to play and why?

First we look at the position as a whole. Black to move. White has 2 Knights and Bishop to Blacks 2 Bishops and a Knight. White also has doubled Rooks on the open c file which (this is generally the right thing to do). Whites Knight on f3 is attacking the e5 pawn threatening to break the chain. White also has a Knight on the edge of the board on a3 that is attacking he b5 pawn. White is also completely developed. Whites Bishop is looking at both sides of the board. So far White isn't doing to bad if you were to just look at it without Blacks pieces.

However, Black's position is much stronger and controls a lot more and is completely dominating White. White has managed to double Rooks on the c-file this is an illusion as they cannot access any other square along that file due to Blacks piece placement. The b5 pawn is perfectly placed as it is holding the c4 square and White cannot utilize it with his Knight or Rooks and there is no quick way to get a break with his pawns due to the Knight blocking the a pawn. Whites Bishop cannot access any advanced square and isn't doing much.

Edit: Yes the Rook is on f8 not the bishop

DylanMeyer1

Apr 16, 2020

0

#2

Hi Philip, I have not read your interesting text yet but I notice I slight typo on the board setup. I presume f8 is a rook?

Regards

Dylan

DylanMeyer1

Apr 16, 2020

0

#3

Really nice little observations about positional strengths and weaknesses. I presume you were Black?

erOrb

Apr 16, 2020

0

#4

Black have 3 bishops ?

daxypoo

Apr 16, 2020

0

#5

lulz

GreenerTea

Apr 16, 2020

0

#6

What would you play next?

GreenerTea

Apr 16, 2020

0

#7

As for me, I guess I’d exchange a bishop for a knight (bxa3) and then play bg4

Ishanpen

Apr 16, 2020

0

#8

same here

DylanMeyer1

Apr 16, 2020

0

#9

I disagree, exchanging Bishop for a Knight creates only problems for black and it will dissolve the tension and superior control black already has. This is mentioned in the text?

I would possibly try to make a move that maintains control of the c file and further improves Blacks position. Perhaps push the a pawn to a5? Actually - even better is Qe7 threatening to take the knight and win a pawn, while at the same time developing the queen and linking up the rooks (f8 is obvs a Rook!).

SoupTime4

Apr 16, 2020

0

#10

1...Ba3 2.ab3 And now blacks dark squares are weak, since you traded off the only defender of the dark squares. The e5 pawn is really vulnerable now after something like: Bb4-Rc5.

You play where you're the strongest. On the queen side. ...a5, or ...Qb6 would be a good way to start.

PhilipFry3000

Apr 16, 2020

0

#11

@GreenerTea - This is the exact purpose of this post. Let's just entertain the the idea of ...Bxa3 bxa3 and then ...Bg4 and we would get a position like the one below.

Lets take a quick look at our position now. Material is still equal, both sides have a Knight and opposing colored Bishops. Whites Knight is attacking the e5 pawn and Blacks Knight is defending the e5 pawn. Blacks Bishop currently has Whites Knight pinned down to the Queen and with the advanced g3 pawn the Queen is the only defender currently. Whites Bishop has access to both sides of the board and can access a few squares on the Queenside. White has doubled pawns on the a file which could turn into targets. Black has more space due to the advanced e and d pawns and has Castled. White has doubled his Rooks on the c file and has access to c5 c6 and c7.

In this position White is slightly worse off than Black, but he has counter-play opportunities. White would be wise to play Kg2, freeing up the Queen from defense of the Knight. He would like to get his Bishop on b4 where it would be much better. White's Rooks have access along the c-file and c7 or c5 would be good squares. As for Black, he is still better in the position, but now he has to deal with the threats listed above from White.

It would be fair to say Bxa3 would be a very bad move for Black right now. Trading the very good Bishop for the very bad Knight on a3 would be a "losing" move. In the original, Black is completely dominating and shutting out White. After Bxa3, White has some potential where before he has nothing.

Another point about this post was to bring up the Bg4 move. A Bishop pinning a Knight to a Queen (or King or Rook). Beginning players "love" to play these types of moves. And while it can be a good idea and lead to complications, they usually tend to be only temporary.

DylanMeyer1

Apr 16, 2020

0

#12

You write and explain things very well Phillip. These are things that I often see and act upon but i would struggle to write this as clearly as you.

Thanks. Please do continue to write informative posts like this.

Asparagusic_acids

Apr 16, 2020

0

#13

PhilipFry3000 wrote:

This position was reached in a game I played against a lower rated player. Like many people when I first started playing it was a challenge to understand chess concepts. One being the concept of "equal" material. Another one is when to capture and not capture a piece. Below illustrates this and many different topics. Here is a quick way to evaluate the position. Before looking further just ask if you were Black what would you want to play and why?

First we look at the position as a whole. Black to move. White has 2 Knights and Bishop to Blacks 2 Bishops and a Knight. White also has doubled Rooks on the open c file which (this is generally the right thing to do). Whites Knight on f3 is attacking the e5 pawn threatening to break the chain. White also has a Knight on the edge of the board on a3 that is attacking he b5 pawn. White is also completely developed. Whites Bishop is looking at both sides of the board. So far White isn't doing to bad if you were to just look at it without Blacks pieces.

However, Black's position is much stronger and controls a lot more and is completely dominating White. White has managed to double Rooks on the c-file this is an illusion as they cannot access any other square along that file due to Blacks piece placement. The b5 pawn is perfectly placed as it is holding the c4 square and White cannot utilize it with his Knight or Rooks and there is no quick way to get a break with his pawns due to the Knight blocking the a pawn. Whites Bishop cannot access any advanced square and isn't doing much.

Edit: Yes the Rook is on f8 not the bishop

Bg5 kg2 f5 is completely winning.

PhilipFry3000

Apr 16, 2020

0

#14

Asparagusic_acids wrote:

PhilipFry3000 wrote:

This position was reached in a game I played against a lower rated player. Like many people when I first started playing it was a challenge to understand chess concepts. One being the concept of "equal" material. Another one is when to capture and not capture a piece. Below illustrates this and many different topics. Here is a quick way to evaluate the position. Before looking further just ask if you were Black what would you want to play and why?

First we look at the position as a whole. Black to move. White has 2 Knights and Bishop to Blacks 2 Bishops and a Knight. White also has doubled Rooks on the open c file which (this is generally the right thing to do). Whites Knight on f3 is attacking the e5 pawn threatening to break the chain. White also has a Knight on the edge of the board on a3 that is attacking he b5 pawn. White is also completely developed. Whites Bishop is looking at both sides of the board. So far White isn't doing to bad if you were to just look at it without Blacks pieces.

However, Black's position is much stronger and controls a lot more and is completely dominating White. White has managed to double Rooks on the c-file this is an illusion as they cannot access any other square along that file due to Blacks piece placement. The b5 pawn is perfectly placed as it is holding the c4 square and White cannot utilize it with his Knight or Rooks and there is no quick way to get a break with his pawns due to the Knight blocking the a pawn. Whites Bishop cannot access any advanced square and isn't doing much.

Edit: Yes the Rook is on f8 not the bishop

Bg5 kg2 f5 is completely winning.

Bg5 is not an option to play. I assume you mean Bg4, but that is a losing move as well. It completely throws away any advantage and allows White to get back in the game. If White were to play Kg2 after ...Bg4 then yes. However, White would just play Nxb4 and get lots of counter play. I think you may have gotten confused when I said Kg2. This was merely an idea White could use if that were to happen in the future it was by no means the best option.

Asparagusic_acids

Apr 16, 2020

0

#15

PhilipFry3000 wrote:

Asparagusic_acids wrote:

PhilipFry3000 wrote:

This position was reached in a game I played against a lower rated player. Like many people when I first started playing it was a challenge to understand chess concepts. One being the concept of "equal" material. Another one is when to capture and not capture a piece. Below illustrates this and many different topics. Here is a quick way to evaluate the position. Before looking further just ask if you were Black what would you want to play and why?

First we look at the position as a whole. Black to move. White has 2 Knights and Bishop to Blacks 2 Bishops and a Knight. White also has doubled Rooks on the open c file which (this is generally the right thing to do). Whites Knight on f3 is attacking the e5 pawn threatening to break the chain. White also has a Knight on the edge of the board on a3 that is attacking he b5 pawn. White is also completely developed. Whites Bishop is looking at both sides of the board. So far White isn't doing to bad if you were to just look at it without Blacks pieces.

However, Black's position is much stronger and controls a lot more and is completely dominating White. White has managed to double Rooks on the c-file this is an illusion as they cannot access any other square along that file due to Blacks piece placement. The b5 pawn is perfectly placed as it is holding the c4 square and White cannot utilize it with his Knight or Rooks and there is no quick way to get a break with his pawns due to the Knight blocking the a pawn. Whites Bishop cannot access any advanced square and isn't doing much.

Edit: Yes the Rook is on f8 not the bishop

Bg5 kg2 f5 is completely winning.

Bg5 is not an option to play. I assume you mean Bg4, but that is a losing move as well. It completely throws away any advantage and allows White to get back in the game. If White were to play Kg2 after ...Bg4 then yes. However, White would just play Nxb4 and get lots of counter play. I think you may have gotten confused when I said Kg2. This was merely an idea White could use if that were to happen in the future it was by no means the best option.

After nxb5 f5 wins, after bg4 white has to play h3 bxh3 and then move it’s queen out of the pin.

PhilipFry3000

Apr 16, 2020

0

#16

@Asparagusic_acids I am having a hard time following what you are trying to say.

Asparagusic_acids

Apr 16, 2020

0

#17

Here is my analysis.

PhilipFry3000

Apr 16, 2020

0

#18

@asparagusic_acids - I hope you looked at the computer analysis before and after. Your line of 1...Bg4 2.Nxb5 2...f5 White is way better than Black. It would continue with 3. h3 Bxf3 4. Qxf3 fxe4 5. Qxe4 and you would get the position below. White has managed to activate all his pieces and has serious threats all over the place.

Nicator65

Apr 16, 2020

0

#19

PhilipFry3000 wrote:

This position was reached in a game I played against a lower rated player. Like many people when I first started playing it was a challenge to understand chess concepts. One being the concept of "equal" material. Another one is when to capture and not capture a piece. Below illustrates this and many different topics. Here is a quick way to evaluate the position. Before looking further just ask if you were Black what would you want to play and why?

First we look at the position as a whole. Black to move. White has 2 Knights and Bishop to Blacks 2 Bishops and a Knight. White also has doubled Rooks on the open c file which (this is generally the right thing to do). Whites Knight on f3 is attacking the e5 pawn threatening to break the chain. White also has a Knight on the edge of the board on a3 that is attacking he b5 pawn. White is also completely developed. Whites Bishop is looking at both sides of the board. So far White isn't doing to bad if you were to just look at it without Blacks pieces.

However, Black's position is much stronger and controls a lot more and is completely dominating White. White has managed to double Rooks on the c-file this is an illusion as they cannot access any other square along that file due to Blacks piece placement. The b5 pawn is perfectly placed as it is holding the c4 square and White cannot utilize it with his Knight or Rooks and there is no quick way to get a break with his pawns due to the Knight blocking the a pawn. Whites Bishop cannot access any advanced square and isn't doing much.

Edit: Yes the Rook is on f8 not the bishop

The material does matter but is not what matters most. Also, you use too much time on irrelevant details.

In most positions what matters most is the piece activity, which is obtained by coordination. Simply try to intersect the activity of several white pieces on Black's material or an infiltration square, and you'll notice that c5, c6, c7, and c8 are under Black's control, and the b5-pawn can be easily protected with ...a7-a6. So, White cannot develop activity without compromising his position (thus handling better chances to the rival).

Now pay attention to Black. You'll soon notice that he can open roads inside White's position after ...f7-f5, to be used by Black's heavy pieces along the f-file, hitting the f2-pawn. This alone shouldn't be a problem as White can play Bd2-e1, Na3-b1-d2, etc. But White has to remain passive on the kingside, where he lacks space and is weak on the light squares. So, even if White can establish defensive lines, Black may push his kingside pawns and open lines nonetheless.

You wrote that material doesn't matter. Let's see. Should you remove Black's a7-pawn, then there's no ...a7-a6 and White can play to get a passer on the a-file. Remove the d-pawn and White gets active by playing d3-d4. Remove the e-pawn and White gets f2-f4. Remove any of the kingside pawns and White moves his rooks to support f2-f4, opening the f-file and weakening the d-pawn (after the exchange of the Black's e5-pawn).

So, material matters to generate activity or to oppose the rival's activity.

jasjas08

Apr 16, 2020

0

#20

Interesting