Which side stands better?

How much better?

Why?

Most chess players rely on loosely knit, unstructured methods to evaluate chess pieces and positions. They learn positional principles which often lead to inaccurate evaluations and faulty decisions about how to proceed.

This ground-breaking book by best-selling chess author Dan Heisman addresses the evaluation and understanding of how static features affect the value of the pieces in a given position. Now in its fourth edition, emphasis is placed on the static evaluation of each piece's value and its role in the overall position rather than the assessment of a specific position. Heisman's approach can also be applied to help evaluate entire positions by helping to answer the questions who stands better, by how much, and why?

About the Author

National Master Dan Heisman is a chess writer and professional chess instructor in the Philadelphia area. His best-selling chess books include Looking for Trouble and Back to Basics: Tactics . His award-winning monthly column for beginners, Novice Nook , has been a regular feature at ChessCafe.com since 2001.

Content:
005 Dedication

005 Preface

006 Introduction

Chapter 1: The Background of Positional Knowledge

012 1.1 Definitions

018 1.2 A Brief History of Positional Theory

023 1.3 Positional Theory in 1974

031 1.4 Inadequacies of 1974 Theory

Chapter 2: The Elements

036 2.1 Introduction

037 2.2 Mobility

044 2.3 Flexibility

049 2.4 Vulnerability

055 2.5 Center Control

057 2.6 Piece Coordination

063 2.7 Time

068 2.8 Speed

070 2.9 Summary

Chapter 3: Pseudo-Elements

071 3.1 Introduction

071 3.2 Material

075 3.3 Space

077 3.4 King Safety

079 3.5 Development

084 3.6 Summary

Chapter 4: The Pieces in Relation to the Elements

085 4.1 Introduction

085 4.2 Mobility

093 4.3 The Knight

099 4.4 The Bishop

110 4.5 The Rook

116 4.6 The Queen

118 4.7 The King

119 4.8 The Pawn

120 4.9 Piece Summary

Chapter 5: Static Features and the Elements

126 5.1 Introduction

126 5.2 Static Features and the Pawns

130 5.2.1 Doubled Pawns

138 5.2.2 Isolated Pawns

142 5.2.3 Backward Pawns

144 5.2.4 Passed Pawns

147 5.2.5 Pawn Summary

149 5.3 Files and Diagonals

149 5.3.1 Introduction

152 5.3.2 Open Files

153 5.3.3 Semi-Open Files

155 5.3.4 Ranks

158 5.3.5 Diagonals

158 5.4 Weak Squares and Outposts

168 5.5 Summary

Chapter 6: Miscellaneous Applications of the Theory

169 6.1 Introduction

169 6.2 The Elements During the Phases of the Game

170 6.2.1 The Opening

171 6.2.2 The Middlegame

172 6.2.3 The Endgame

175 6.3 A Brief Guide to Chess Principles

181Chapter 7: Epilogue

183Appendix: Illustrative Games

211Bibliography

213Footnotes

216Acknowledgements

216About the Author