PART 1 • It's all in the numbers
When we look at this position (with Black to move) we see
the tempting Rook on f1 which is attacked by Black's Bishop.
Would taking the Rook be a good idea? Let's fire up Houdini
and see what it thinks:
Obviously, different programs will display chess engine analysis in different ways. But several pieces of information are common to all chess programs' engine displays.
Depth: how far ahead (in plies, or half moves) the engine looked ahead.
When I took the screen shot, Houdini was then analyzing the 21st ply – in
other words, it was looking ten and a half moves ahead.
Time: Most programs will also show