Stage IV · Strategy
The Evaluation Room
Case 1 of 10 · Score 0
A commentator earns the right to a verdict by asking six questions first. Ask them, count the ledger, judge — then hear the house.
The isolani, at its best hour
White to moveWhite Black
the beam levels until you judge
1 · COUNT THE LEDGER
Points on the board for each side — pawn 1 · knight 3 · bishop 3 · rook 5 · queen 9. Kings are beyond price.
White points
30
Black points
30
2 · DELIVER THE VERDICT
The six questions — ask them of every position, forever
1 · MATERIAL
Count the points, both sides, every time — then ask what the count is worth in THIS position.
2 · KING SAFETY
Whose king could be attacked within three moves? An unsafe king devalues every other advantage.
3 · PAWN STRUCTURE
Find the skeletons: isolated, backward, passed, chains. They name the long-term plans.
4 · PIECE ACTIVITY
Whose pieces do more? A bishop on a locked diagonal is a tall pawn.
5 · SPACE & SQUARES
Who owns the holes and outposts? Who breathes, who suffocates?
6 · THE PLAN
Say one sentence each side would write on their hand. If you can’t — you haven’t evaluated yet.