"Computers are incredibly fast, accurate and stupid; humans are incredibly slow, inaccurate and brilliant; together they are powerful beyond imagination." - attributed to Albert Einstein

Chess analysis is nearly as old as the game itself, with many of the pioneering works by the giants of chess history being devoted to the analysis of positions, openings and endings. Chess analysis, theory, and knowledge advanced with each subsequent analyst building upon the knowledge of those who went before, using methods that had changed little since those earlier times.

That is until now. Personal computers and powerful chess software are having a profound effect on chess analysis and theory. Today it is hard to find a grandmaster who does not use a computer, and yet this is the first book devoted to combining the computer and the human brain for chess analysis -an endeavour that is central to modern chess.

However, this book does far more than explain methods for computer-assisted analysis. Readers will develop a deeper understanding of the strengths and limitations of the human mind, and a greater understanding of many areas of chess while working through the examples that Robin Smith presents.

The many topics in this wide-ranging book include:

• Schematic thinking

• Dynamic play vs quiet manoeuvring

• Fortresses

• King Hunts and 'King Drift'

• The Problem of Exchanging

• Interactive Analysis

Robin Smith has qualified for the correspondence chess grandmaster title. He has been USA Correspondence Chess Champion on two occasions and has won a World Correspondence Chess Championship semi-final.

005 Symbols

005 Dedication

005 Acknowledgements

006 Introduction

007 Why Analysis?

008 General Information about Computers and Chess Programs

009 Buying a Computer for Chess Analysis

010 Which Chess Program Should I Get?

010 General Comments on Chess Program Algorithms

012 1 Relative Strengths of Computers versus Humans

012 Calculation

017 Schematic Thinking

019 Positional Evaluation

027 Some Evaluation Function Subtleties

029 Exceptions to the 'Rules'

029 The Exchange Sacrifice

032 Other Piece Imbalances

032 'Weak' Pawn-Structures

037 Intuition

041 2 Computer-Aided Analysis Methods

041 Interactive Analysis - Using a Program as a Sparring Partner

046 Multivariation Mode

046 Box Canyons

049 Transpositions

050 Running Multiple Engines Concurrently

054 Engine Tournaments as an Analysis Tool

056 Deep Position Analysis/Correspondence Mode

060 Auto-Annotating and Blunderchecking

064 3 Opening Analysis

064 Game Database Statistics

065 Annotated Games

067 Using the Bookup Program

070 4 Middlegame Analysis

070 Deep Tactics and Highly Forcing Lines

072 Outposts, Weak Squares, Targets, Passed Pawns and Other Positional Features

079 Positional Sacrifices

081 Prisons

092 Castling

093 King Hunts and 'King Drift'

104 The Problem of Exchanging

106 Material Imbalances

106 Quiet Manoeuvring

113 Critical Positions

116 5 Endgame Analysis

116 Endgame Database Statistics

117 Tablebase Endings

123 Fortresses

136 Perpetual Check

140 The Problem of Exchanging, Revisited

142 Passed Pawns

142 Passed Pawns in King and Pawn Endings

146 Passed Pawns in Endgames with Pieces

153 Quiet Manoeuvring Revisited

156 6 Putting it All Together

165 Some Conclusions

165 The Future of Chess Analysis

167 Common Computer Chess Terms

172 Milestones in the History of Computer Chess

175 Index of Players

176 Index of Composers

176 Index of Openings