Compensation is one of the most important and difficult concepts in chess evaluation. When a player sacrifices material, they must obtain something in return: development lead, initiative, weak squares in the opponent's camp, open lines for attack, or other positional factors that balance or outweigh the material loss.
Judging whether compensation is sufficient requires deep understanding of position types. In some cases, a pawn sacrifice yields lasting positional pressure that keeps the opponent tied down for the rest of the game. In others, the compensation is temporary and the attacker must convert it quickly before the defender consolidates.
Modern chess engines have made compensation evaluation more precise, but human judgment remains essential for understanding qualitative factors that engines may undervalue. Many of the greatest games in chess history feature brilliant sacrifices with long-term compensation that only became clear many moves later.