Strategic Elements of Steinitz: Evaluate, Plan and Play
Wilhelm (changed to William when he moved to the US) Steinitz changed his style from romantic to classical in 1873. He formulated principles that would tremendously influence the ideas of chess strategy. The elements of his original principles were refined by a number of famous players, but the original ideas have been attributed to the first world champion. A list of Steinitz’s permanent and temporary advantages are listed below. I use the “refined” Steinitz list help evaluate grandmaster games and aid in my own play.
Permanent Advantages
- Material advantage
- Poor king position
- Passed pawns
- Weak pawns
- Strong and weak squares
- Pawn islands
- Strong pawn centre
- Control of a diagonal
- Control of a file
- Control of a rank
- Bishop pair
Temporary Advantages
- Bad piece position
- Inharmoniously placed pieces
- Advantage in development
- Piece centralization
- Space advantage
"Refined" Steinitz (or how to evaluate any game)
Consider the following:
- Material balance
- King safety
- Threats (direct or not evident)
- Piece activity
- Pawn structure as it relates to:
Open lines (diagonals, files and ranks)
Strong squares
Centre control
Space and where
