Author: Robert Hyatt
Date: 07:48:34 10/05/99
Go up one level in this thread
On October 05, 1999 at 02:40:04, Howard Exner wrote: > >Yes, both these authors loaded their books with numerous examples to >draw a distinction between two kinds of "sacrifices". The "combination" >examples were always the kind that were within the the "vision" of the >one initiating it. All calculated and seen as a temporary giving up >of material in return for some other visualized advantage (mate,material,draw). >They also went to great lengths to describe another kind of move, dubbed >the "real sacrifice" (or positional sacrifice). That was the sequence of >moves that traded material for some other form of compensation >(the dynamic stuff -initiative,pressure,cramping the opponent,maximizing >ones pieces ...), not within the range of calculation. > > But within those definitions lie alot of subjectivity. What is a >combination for one person could equally be a sacrifice for another >depending on ones level of calculating depth. What was a finely calculated >combination for Capablanca >would if I were to make the move be a sacrifice (the kind that carried with it >the "risk" that Dvoretsky spoke of). Having the many examples in their books >made their definitions clearer. At all our varying levels of play we make >these kind of moves all the time. The combination that we know will have >a positive return vs the shaky investment of the sacrifice where the >outcome is beyond our mental capacity to visualize( the trade off you >believe will benefit you). Someone else pointed this out in a sub-thread... which I suppose could make the whole discussion moot. But for a computer, positional sacrifices are rare (but they do happen, I watch crafty do them every day) while combinations happen in almost every game on ICC, because the computer 'sees' the outcome as good. But most humans aren't that good tactically so they might conclude 'sacrifice, neat'...
This page took 0 seconds to execute
Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.