Author: Bob Durrett
Date: 14:57:29 02/04/04
Go up one level in this thread
On February 04, 2004 at 14:15:33, Tom Likens wrote: > >Hello Everyone, > >I'm getting ready to implement some new features in my engine and >one of the items on my TODO list is to give the engine some rudimentary >planning capablities. The idea I've been toying with is to use the >features of the pawn structure (and the king locations) to guide what >the engine should try over the next few moves. The advantage of using >the pawn formation as a trigger or even index into a variety of evaluation >functions, (perhaps dynamically selected by a function pointer at runtime) >is that the information could be stored in the pawn hash table for >easy retrieval. > >As an example, if the center is blocked and white has a preponderance of >force and space on the king side then it may be okay to start a king- >side attack using the white king pawns to break open the black king's >castled location. At the very least moves like g4, h4 should be considered. >This would be especially true if the black queen was trapped on the >queenside and the black's king safety was already weakened. Other >factors would be control of the squares around the enemy king, but the >initial trigger would be the features of the pawn structure. > >Anyway, this is just one example other patterns could be the Stonewall, >the pawn chains that arise out of the French Defence, the Caro-Kan etc. >or even recognizing when a queenside minority attack made sense. > >In fact, I've starting using a variation of this idea in the king safety >routines. >I recently started saving the pawn state of the six squares directly in front >of the king (if a pawn is present then bit is set in an 8-bit index). This >value, once calculated, is used as an index into an array of function >pointers that point to functions tailored for the specific pawn structure >(e.g. if the pawn structure is a fianchetto structure then elements related >to the strength or weakness of the fianchetto bishop etc. are checked). >So far, the results have been encouraging but it needs a lot of tuning and >experimentation. > >Anyway, I was wondering has anyone else here given any of these >ideas a try yet? And if so, how successful have they been? > >regards, >--tom It is a mistake to assume that pawn structure is the sole indicator of a proper plan. There are quite a few relevant books on this topic. Here are a few: 2750 Mikhail Botvinnik 2 Michail Botvinnik: Master of Strategy Botvinnik's Best Games 1947-1970 (4th Ed.) 1992 ISBN 0713469730 2750 Dr. M. Euwe 1 Strategy & Tactics in Chess 1973 Lib. Con. 7297547 David McKay Co., Inc. 2653 Yasser & Jeremy Seirawan & Silman 1 Winning Chess Strategies 1994 ISBN 1556156634 2640 Alexander & Adrian Beliavsky & Mikhalchishin 7 Winning Endgame Strategy 2000 ISBN 0713484462 Batsford 2550 Lev & Sam Alburt & Palatnik 1 Chess Strategy for the Tournament Player 1997 ISBN 1889323055 2525 Vlastimil Jansa 3 Dynamics of Chess Strategy 2003 ISBN 0713486082 Batsford 2520 Ludek Pachman 1 Modern Chess Strategy 1963 ISBN 0486202909 2510 Raymond Keene 2 Grandmaster Strategy 2002 ISBN 0951375792 2507 Mihai Suba 1 Dynamic Chess Strategy 1991 ISBN 0080371418 2475 M. I. Shereshevsky 7 Endgame Strategy 1988 ISBN 0080297455 2464 Josh Waitzkin 1 Josh Waitzkin's Attacking Chess: Aggressive Strategies and Inside Moves 1995 ISBN 0684802503 2460 Mark Dvoretsky 1 Strategic Play: School of Chess Excellence 3 2002 ISBN 3283004188 2450 Edward Lasker 1 Modern Chess Strategy 1978 ISBN 0679140220 2434 Eduard & Nikolai Gufeld & Kalienchenko 1 Chess Strategy 2003 ISBN 0713487755 2420 John Watson 1 Chess Strategy in Action 2003 ISBN 1901983692 2420 John Watson 1 Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy: Advances Since Nimzowitsch 1999 ISBN 1901983072 2388 Angus Dunnington 1 101 Winning Chess Strategies 1999 ISBN 1901983226 2383 Jeremy Silman 1 The Complete Book of Chess Strategy Grandmaster Techniques from A to Z 1998 ISBN 1890085014 2381 Edmar Mednis 7 Advanced Endgame Strategies 1996 ISBN 0945470592 2381 Edmar Mednis 2 Strategic Chess: Mastering the Closed Game 1993 ISBN 0945806116 2381 Edmar Mednis 7 Strategic Themes in Endgames (2nd Ed.) 1991 ISBN 0931462940 2325 Jan van Reek 7 Basic Strategy in the Endgame 1997 ISBN 9074827276 2325 Jan van Reek 1 Hypermodern Strategy 1996 ISBN 0875682820 2325 Jan van Reek 1 Strategy in Chess 1997 ISBN 3980489698 Schachfirma Fruth 2295 Tom Unger 1 Strategical Themes 1989 ISBN 0938650459 2250 Robert Leininger 1 Middlegame Strategy with the Carlsbad Pawn Structure 1997 ISBN 1886846073 2201 G. M. & Bernard Lisitsyn & Cafferty 1 Second Book of Chess Strategy 1976 ISBN 0713414251 2200 Bruce Pandolfini 1 Weapons of Chess: An Omnibus of Chess Strategy 1989 ISBN 0671659723 2200 Alfonso Romero 1 Creative Chess Strategy 2003 ISBN 1901983927 Gambit 2177 Eric Schiller 1 Strategy for Advanced Players 1992 ISBN 0875682022 0 Leslie AuIt 1 The Genesis of Power Chess: Effective Winning Techniques for Strategy and Tactics 1993 ISBN 0938650505 0 Leonard Barden 1 How Good is Your Chess? Rate your skill and improve your strategy by participating in 35 master games 1957 ISBN 0486232948 0 Irving Chernev 2 The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played: 62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy 1965 ISBN 048673024 0 Pickett 6 Enterprizing Strategy in the King's Indian Defense 1975 ISBN 0 John Norman Walker 1 Attacking the King: Fighting Strategy and Tactics for Checkmate 1989 ISBN 1852602201 Bob D.
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