Evaluating the position

In a game of chess it is particularly important to be able to evaluate the position correctly and objectively. Then you can find the correct plan or make a good decision.
What follows is simply a short list of the most important positional factors; this list could be extended.

1) The position of the king
2) Material superiority
3) Control of the centre
4) Activity of the pieces
5) Pawn structure
6) Advantage in space
7) Open lines
8) The initiative

During the game it is necessary to take into account only a few factors essential to the position.
The art of evaluation actually consists of being able to filter out the essential factors in the position from all these numerous factors.
The position of the king often plays a decisive role and can outweigh the other factors. In order to open up your opponent's king position, you can often accept having a worse pawn structure or even giving up material.

If the positions of the two kings are more or less equally secure and the material balance has not been disturbed, then other factors clearly play a more important role. Sometimes the control of a single open line or a much superior pawn structure confers a decisive advantage on one player.

To improve your feeling for positional play and to refine your evaluation of the position, you should study games by strong players with their annotations.
By comparing your evaluations with those of the grandmasters, you can discover and correct the positional errors you may be making.