What-if in chess: exploratory lines

What-if

Definition

In chess jargon, a “what-if” is an exploratory, hypothetical line of play used to examine how a position might evolve if one or more alternative moves were chosen. Unlike an official variation written in game scores, a what-if is speculative: it answers the question, “What would have happened if…?” and is therefore essential to post-game analysis, engine investigation, and instructive commentary.

How It Is Used

• Post-mortem discussions: After a game, players revisit critical moments and ask “What if I had played 17…Nxe4?” to locate improvements.
• Engine exploration: Modern GUIs feature “What-If Mode,” letting you drag pieces to a new square and see the new evaluation without altering the original game record.
• Instructional texts: Authors insert side-variations marked with parentheses or curly braces—e.g. {What if 12...♛xb2?}—to show traps or refutations.
• Correspondence & variant chess: Players test multiple what-if branches before committing because time controls permit deep research.

Strategic & Historical Significance

The discipline of asking “what-if” sharpens calculation and pattern recognition. Historically, great analysts—Steinitz, Lasker, and especially Alekhine—published exhaustive what-if notes that advanced opening theory. Engines have amplified this habit, allowing amateurs to perform grandmaster-level scenario testing in seconds.

Illustrative Example

Position after 17…♘e5 in the famous game Kasparov–Topalov, Wijk aan Zee 1999 (diagram omitted):

[[Pgn| e4|d6|d4|Nf6|Nc3|g6|Be3|Bg7|Qd2|c6| f3|b5|Nge2|Nbd7|Bh6|Bxh6|Qxh6|e5| d5|b4|dxc6|bxc3|Nxc3|Qb6|cxd7+|Bxd7|O-O-O|Rc8 |arrows|e4e5,d4d5|squares|e5,d5,f3 ]]

Commentators asked, “What if Kasparov had adopted the immediate 18. dxc6 instead of the spectacular 24. ♘d5!! later?” Exploring that line reveals Topalov still struggles but keeps material closer to equal. Such counterfactuals highlight how thin the margin was between a brilliant masterpiece and merely a strong game.

Interesting Facts & Anecdotes

• Bobby Fischer reportedly replayed his own games nightly, filling notebooks with what-if variations; many appeared in My 60 Memorable Games.
• The move 40…♝h3?? in Kasparov vs. Deep Blue, 1997 was partly justified by IBM’s engineers as a “what-if” to complicate the evaluation. Kasparov misinterpreted it as deep preparation.
• In correspondence databases, analysts tag branches with “WI” to denote they are purely hypothetical.

Summary

Whether scribbled in a scorebook margin or generated by Stockfish in a cloud window, the “what-if” is the chess player’s laboratory—an imaginary battlefield where moves are tested, ideas refined, and future victories prepared.