In one of my games, I noticed the value "+3" displayed next to the board. It was a helpful reminder that I had a rook and a pawn for a knight. While I understand the good intentions behind this feature, I think it is ultimately a big mistake. The reason: Players should have to calculate this for themselves, just like in non-internet games!
In my view, Lichess should proceed with extreme caution when it comes to any computer-generated help provided in live games, be it engine evaluations, material balance, or whatnot. Sure, show the pieces captured next to the board (just like in real-life), but let the players figure out the rest.
You should check the possibilities in preferences, like many other thing, you can change this too.:
Here it is the second pick.:
en.lichess.org/account/preferences/game-display"Material difference - Yes/No"
btw.: it can be helpful in time scrambles, like hyperbullet, but its your choice
MiniGD: You seem to be missing the point. Did you read my post or just the title? :)
Personally I agree (although other sites do keep track of material imbalance, that doesn't make it right to do). But that's my personal opinion & likely an unpopular opinion.
Yes I read the post. Shoulda wouldaa bla bla is different then real things. Millions reasons pro and con. Not everyone is/or want to become a chess professional.
(and yes, obviously your opinion is the correct way to learn - but if you watch chess videos, I personally have the experience Chess-Network and John Bartolomeew also stops for sometime and ask, "oh what's the material count", and there is the hobby player/time factor, so its a very good thing, at least here you can change this option, not like other sites)
Why do you consider it help anyway? A good player won't look at that at all as he always looks for the best move even if he is up a piece. It's just useful to check the balance if you think about resigning.
Back in the day Lichess would show a jumble of captured pieces next to the board, just like an OTB game. Good times...
#6 Doig, that's not an argument. The best move depends on the material balance. If you are up a piece you should try to play well. If you are down a piece you should try to swindle, which is not good if you are up a piece.
However a good player maybe mostly keep in mind the material strength and not need to look at such an indicator because he/she is used to, but that's another thing.
I agree with this. Material value calculations should not be displayed. Captured pieces would be fine, since that information is definitely available over-the-board, but assigning point values to pieces and then displaying the totals or differences is a totally different matter.
Btw captured pieces are only shown OTB if you opponent puts them next to the board. He doesn't need to do that as there is no rule where to put pieces.
