How in chess notation one decides what mark put on a move like if it’s a strong move (!), weak move (?) very strong move (!!) or very weak move (??) if the game is not ended yet? A move could appear weak but actually leads to a strong sequence

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How in chess notation one decides what mark put on a move like if it’s a strong move (!), weak move (?) very strong move (!!) or very weak move (??) if the game is not ended yet? A move could appear weak but actually leads to a strong sequence

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Anonymous 0 Comments

suppose for a second that god existed and could play perfect chess, and that he is playing himself. and lets further suppose that the outcome of such a game is a draw (which it probably is).

there is no way that god could suddenly play a move that changes a drawn position into a winning one. the only way that could happen is if the preceding move was a mistake by the opponent.

therefore, logically, there is no such thing as an (!) or (!!) move – only (?) and (??).

now, we are of course not gods, and neither are the computer engines that play the game. but these computers are quite good at judging positions, based on best future moves by both sides. they do have to stop analysing at some point though and give a best guess of the evaluation of a given position. they do this by assigning values – eg +1.3 means white has an advantage of 1.3 pawns. or -99 would mean black can force a checkmate. something like that.

it is possible, and happens all the time, that a certain move shifts an evaluation significantly in the opponent’s favour. we may then assign (?) or (??) to this move, depending on the size of the shift.

on the other hand, it should not be possible to increase the evaluation in your favour by playing a certain move. that move should have been considered anyway, and would influence the evaluation of the current position. so, again, (!) and (!!) should not be possible.

as some have pointed out, it does happen that the computer evaluation shifts favourably having played a certain move. this is a reflection of the imperfections of the computer software and hardware. perhaps it was a move that the computer dismissed as bad too early in the analysis, but if forced to analyse it would eventually realise the strength of it. this is a candidate for a (!) or (!!) but it only reflects imperfections in the analysis tool used.

in short, chess is a game of mistake after mistake where the last but one to make a mistake usually wins (or salvages a draw). theoretically there are no good or very good moves, just bad and very bad ones.

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