pinned pieces - a bad or a good thing?

flok · Post by **flok** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 3:37 pm

Hi,

Is it good to have pinned pieces? (pinned by the king) Or is it a disadvantage?

Ferdy · Post by **Ferdy** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 4:14 pm

flok wrote:Hi,

Is it good to have pinned pieces? (pinned by the king) Or is it a disadvantage?

It is a disadvantage because the pinned piece cannot move.

flok · Post by **flok** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 4:31 pm

I see.

And regarding the protecting they do: shouldn't that give a positive evaluation value?

Ferdy · Post by **Ferdy** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 4:36 pm

flok wrote:I see.

And regarding the protecting they do: shouldn't that give a positive evaluation value?

Sorry I don't exactly get it, what do you mean by protecting they do?

Henk · Post by **Henk** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 5:25 pm

At least testing for pinned pieces is expensive. And computing features that are expensive usually give no ELO gain for my engine.

Dicaste · Post by **Dicaste** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 9:06 pm

It is just bad because you can not move your piece unless you lost your positional/material advantage.

cdani · Post by **cdani** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 12:36 am

I penalize them by diminishing their mobility value.

flok · Post by **flok** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 9:47 am

What I meant is: a pinned piece is protecting an other piece. Shouldn't that give a positive evaluation score?

AdminX · Post by **AdminX** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 9:55 am

flok wrote:What I meant is: a pinned piece is protecting an other piece. Shouldn't that give a positive evaluation score?

Until it is overpowered by other pieces attacking it, the pinned piece is a sitting target.

cdani · Post by **cdani** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 9:55 am

flok wrote:What I meant is: a pinned piece is protecting an other piece. Shouldn't that give a positive evaluation score?

I and others have only found that a penalization is good. So a positive score will contradict that.