Material-compensation annotation symbol

Compensation for material exists when one side has fewer pawns or pieces but receives something in return: activity, the initiative, exposure of the enemy king, a better structure, strong squares, or promotion chances. Compensation may be insufficient, sufficient, or worth more than the material given.

The original Portable Game Notation (PGN) specification for the text format used to store games uses Numeric Annotation Glyphs (NAGs) $42-$47. Each pair identifies the side with the deficit and the degree of compensation: insufficient, sufficient, or more than adequate. The NAG number therefore carries more information than an isolated shape.

⮖ and ⯹ are specialized characters in Unicode, the standard that assigns common codes to digital characters, for compensation, with the infinity sign above or below the equals sign. =/∞ is a common typographic approximation when the glyph is unavailable. Visual conventions vary, and not every font clearly identifies which side has the compensation, so the NAG or accompanying text is safer.

Compensation is not the same as an unclear position. An annotator may judge quite precisely that the compensation is inadequate or fully sufficient. It also does not mean that the missing material will be recovered; dynamic advantages can justify the deficit without removing it.