Tagged for interest. I wondered that myself.
Sharp Positions? Please Explain
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"I don't always understand what the analysis is telling me." ++ Look at the lines it gives then.
"It seems that whenever I castle, the game analysis calls it a mistake...
and then when I don't castle, well, that's also a mistake."
++ Castle early and often.
It is a powerful move: brings your king to safety and connects your rooks.
It is like 3 moves: Kf2, Rf1, Kg1 for the price of 1.
O-O is usually preferred over O-O-O: can be done 1 move faster, does not require a premature queen move, and does not require an additional king move to the b-file.
The exception is when you want to attack h4-h5 supported by Rh1 or g4-g5 supported by Rg1.
"What is meant by "sharp positions" or, in this case "less sharp positions"?"
++ A sharp position is a position where you or your opponent have few or one winning move, but several losing moves
Here is an example of a sharp position:
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044020
Fischer failed to find the winning 20 Qf4 and lost.
One reason I sometimes have problems using the game analysis is that, as a very inexperienced player, I don't always understand what the analysis is telling me.
I'm currently exploring "castling" in my games. It seems that whenever I castle, the game analysis calls it a mistake... and then when I don't castle, well, that's also a mistake.
In this recent disastrous game against a bot, the game engine points out that I should have castled and gives this explanation:
"Castling to the same side of the board as your opponent tends to lead to less sharp positions as compared with opposite-side castling."
What is meant by "sharp positions" or, in this case "less sharp positions"?