Why 0.00 Evaluations Can Be Misleading

Chess engines are nowadays a lot stronger than any human that has ever lived. A turning point that marked the end of a time when the best humans could beat the engines was the Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov match (1997), where Kasparov (the best player at the time) was outplayed by the IBM supercomputer by 3½ -2½ in their 6 game-match.

An unhappy Kasparov after losing to Deep Blue

Nowadays engines are a lot stronger than Deep Blue, that’s why using them to try to find the best move in any given position is very common and sometimes useful.

However, there can be some situations where using them can be quite confusing, particularly if we trust them blindly.

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Evaluations that go "0.00" or around 0 (like "0.06") normally indicate that the position is a draw or very drawish. However, we need to acknowledge the huge difference in strength between the engine and us and how much ahead we sometimes need to see to make sure that the position remains equal.

That’s why I decided to create a lesson showing some different positions where the evaluation is around "0.00". In the positions, we’ll try to use a human way to analyze and interpret what these super powerful engines really mean.

If you don’t have a chess engine, this video will also teach you how to use one for free. You’ll also learn some practical ideas, such as preparing an opening line that you might prepare against your opponents.