In
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
, compensation is the typically short-term positional advantages a player gains in exchange for typically disadvantage. Short-term advantages involve
initiative
In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a ...
and .
Forms
Compensation can include:
*Better
pawn structure.
*The "two
bishops
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
", which refers to having bishops of both colors while your opponent does not. Almost all modern players consider having both bishops as an advantage, although historically there has been great debate as to how much of an advantage they constitute. The two bishops are most likely to show their power in the
endgame.
*Better
piece
Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess
* ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game for the Super NES
* ...
and/or better (common in
gambits).
*Having the enemy
king
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
exposed to future attack, either due to a loss of
pawn cover or being trapped in the center of the
board
Board or Boards may refer to:
Flat surface
* Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat
** Plank (wood)
** Cutting board
** Sounding board, of a musical instrument
* Cardboard (paper product)
* Paperboard
* Fiberboard
** Hardboard, a ty ...
, is often excellent compensation.
*
Passed pawns are often decisive in the endgame.
Connected and/or
protected passed pawns are even more deadly.
*Control over
key squares, , , or .
Examples
Polugaevsky versus Evans
A
rook on the seventh rank (the opponent's second rank) is usually very powerful, as it threatens the opponent's unadvanced pawns and hems in the enemy king. A rook on the seventh rank is sufficient compensation for a pawn . In this position from a game between
Lev Polugaevsky and
Larry Evans, the rook on the seventh rank enables White to
draw, despite being a pawn down .
Spassky versus Fischer
A famous 1960 game between future
world champions
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
Boris Spassky and
Bobby Fischer
Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11� ...
began with a
King's Gambit
The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. f4
White offers a pawn to divert the black e-pawn. If Black accepts the gambit, White has two main plans. The first is to play d4 and Bxf4, regaining the gambit ...
opening.
White
sacrifices
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...
a pawn on his second move:
:1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. h4 g4 5. Ne5
reaching the position shown (first diagram). Fischer examines an alternate fifth move for Black:
:5... h5 6. Bc4 Rh7 7. d4 d6 8. Nd3 f3 9. gxf3 Be7 10. Be3 Bxh4+ 11. Kd2 Bg5 12. f4 Bh6 13. Nc3
reaching the position shown (second diagram), where Fischer explains "White has more than enough compensation for the pawn."
The bishop pair
Possession of the often yields long-term compensation for sacrificed material.
Berthelot versus Flear
An unbalanced position has arisen straight out of the opening, in which, with an open center, Black has a pawn and the for the
exchange.
Balashov versus Quinteros
A relatively interesting middlegame has been reached. White is up
the exchange, while Black is compensated by two active bishops forming a crisscross pattern.
Bishops of opposite colors
sometimes give the defender drawing chances in the long run, even if the opponent has a material advantage of one or two pawns or even
the exchange.
See also
*
Chess piece relative value
*
The exchange (chess)
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
{{chess
Chess terminology