Manual de Houdini 3 2012 | Page 130

130 Houdini Help See also Game analysis with Let`s Check .. 3.5.2 Evaluation of the position Chess engines evaluate positions with the help of a numeric value. The evaluation is expressed in pawn units, always from the point of view of White. If the program is displaying a value of +1.30, this means that it considers the white position to be better by the equivalent of 1.3 pawns. If White is actually a pawn up, then the additional 0.3 is the result of positional considerations (mobility, deployment of pieces, king safety, pawn structure, etc.). A display of –3.00 means that White is a piece down – either a bishop or a knight, which are both equivalent to about three pawns. Rooks are worth five and the queen about nine pawns. Of course the king's value is unlimited – lose it and you've lost the game. In this example the evaluation of the position is -+ 1.12, i.e., well over one pawn. This is always the case: positive values favour White, negative values favour Black. In addition to the precise pawn values, the evaluation is also given in standard chess symbols: = The position is about equal ² White is slightly better ± White is clearly better +- White is winning -+ Black is winning µ Black is clearly better ³ Black is slightly better © ChessBase 2012