Software position evaulation (and its ethics)

I'm a big fan of the computer analysis feature here on chess.com.  As well as seeing which moves of mine were bad, I get a 'score' for each position, e.g. +2.4 (white is winning), -12.6 (black is REALLY winning), etc.

My question is this. Is there a way (software, internet) to get an estimated score for my current position?

And if there is, is it ethical to see the score during a game?  Obviously, it would be cheating if I tried different moves, looking at each score, then chose the highest scoring move. But what if I only saw the score of the current position?  Just to give me a hint as to how I'm doing?

I think it's possible to see how it's going without computer, maybe not with numbers, but just look at position. Isolated or double pawns, pawn isles, advantage of pair of bishops, squares under control, centrum control, open lines, etc.

Naturally I can evaluate as I'm playing (is there any other way?), but I'd really like to see that number.

fattyjules> And if there is, is it ethical to see the score during a game? 

Since it's against chess.com rules, and we agree to those rules upon creating an account on this site, it would be unethical to do so.

"You many only have ONE Chess.com member account. You may NOT get any help from any person or any chess engine throughout the course of a game, including tablebases. You MAY use books, magazines, or other articles. You may also use computer databases (including Chess.com's Game Explorer). EXCEPTION: If both players agree for the use of a chess engine in an UNRATED game then it can be allowed."

See: http://support.chess.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=view&parentcategoryid=6&nav=0

i dont see anything wrong with that since you are not looking for "best move".  if you really wanted to be fair you would tell your opponent the score, but that would just lead to them thinking you're cheating.  My view of ethics is relative to situations and can be summed up with it is okay to do something if it has better positive effects than negative(all around).  in your situation there isn't really any negative effect on your opponent and very little positive effect on you.

edit: rules shouldn't be the ruler of one's ethics.  you can obey all the rules and be immoral.  you can also break several rules and be ethically sound

joshgregory7> you can obey all the rules and be immoral.

True.

joshgregory7> you can also break several rules and be ethically sound

If one promises to follow a rule then breaks it, I don't consider that ethically sound.

I say unless its a tool that you can see on the right of the game you are currently playing,  you probably ought not to use it until after the game.  I run my finished games through a computer analyzer, and I find it helpful.  But wait till after the game.

But to know immediately that you blundered or are entering a weak position is not fair.  What if you opponent was trying to lure you into a trap, you fell for it and the computer "exposed" your error. If you immediately try to compensate for your mistake, is this fair to your opponent?  If the computer points out your error and you have a chance to escape before your opponent can slam the door on you is that right?  Normally you wouldn't know your mistake until many moves later, and knowing immediately after is an unfair advantage IMHO.

Besides, its not like you can't learn from a computer analyzer, just wait till the game is done to do the learning.  When your playing, play.  I find that a solid loss re-enforces a lesson far better than the blunders that I get away with in a game.  I think you will learn faster and play better if you don't use computer tools during a game.  Take notes of what you were thinking when you made a particular move and consult those notes post-game with the analyzer.  Then you can identify the ideas that led you to make a poor move.  When I first started playing the computer (Chessmaster) I left the analyzer and blunder alert on.  I found that I was becoming lazy because if I made a mistake one of those tools would catch it. I turned those two features off and I noticed I thought more about each move, and improved faster.

I don't know if it is cheating or not, but I think you are not doing your game any favors if you decide to use that method.

You're absolutely right - I hadn't thought of that at all.  Just using my unreliable brain, I might think I'm in a good position.  But if a computer evaluation gives me a poor score, I will reconsider.  It's the equivalent of an expert whispering 'look again' in my ear.  And it's definitely cheating.

Thanks chess.com community, you've changed my mind.