English Chess Forum

He probably means space, but thinks spatial sounds better.

What does it mean if a variation 'is a mess'?

soheil_hooshdaran wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 19, 2018 3:21 pm

What does it mean if a variation 'is a mess'?

It means that the resulting position is too complex for the annotator to definitively evaluate it. The usual reason for this is that some traits of the position favour one side and some the other.

Why not simply saying unclear, or complicated?

I expect "mess" refers to a particular type of those positions.

"Mess" implies that the outcome is worse than simply unclear or complicated - which implies (near) parity)

What is the difference between plus and advantage?

Very little - what's the context

we must keep in mind that this kind of compensation cannot be considered long-term, in contrast to Black's advantage (better pawn-structure) which, under normal circumstances, will be an enduring plus. White must take full
advantage of his pluses in order to retain a good game.

like:
I think that I could obtain a slight but perma­nent plus.

Andy Stoker wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:16 pm

Very little - what's the context

like:
I think that I could obtain a slight but perma­nent plus.
like:
we must keep in mind that this kind of compensation cannot be considered long-term, in contrast to Black's advantage (better pawn-structure) which, under normal circumstances, will be an enduring plus. White must take full
advantage of his pluses in order to retain a good game.

The author seems to be using the terms almost interchangeably - "advantage" and "plus" mean the same thing. There is a phrase "to take advantage of" - which just means to exploit a plus, or an advantage.

soheil_hooshdaran wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 20, 2018 12:58 pm

perma­nent plus.

There are no doubt sightings before the age of computer analysis, but "plus" could be taken to refer to an engine evaluation.

No, this book I'm translating is published in 2007

Well then that's exactly what Roger says - " "plus" could be taken to refer to an engine evaluation." We had computers in 2007.