What is an excellent move in chess?
An excellent move loses between 10 and 49 centipawns against the engine's best line. It is not the top choice, but it gives up too little to change how the position should be played.
Threshold
Excellent — 10 to 49 centipawns lost against the engine’s best line.
Where the line sits
Under 50 centipawns is half a pawn. A centipawn is a hundredth of a pawn, so 100 centipawns is a whole pawn's worth of advantage. A move in this band concedes something real but not structural — a slightly worse square, a tempo, a marginally less active piece.
It carries no accuracy penalty here. A game played entirely in this band is a well-played game, and scoring it otherwise would make accuracy a measure of engine agreement rather than of play.
Why most good moves land here
Club games are mostly made of these. Reaching the top engine line consistently is a titled-player skill; staying within half a pawn of it is what strong practical play actually looks like.
That is also why a long run of excellent moves says more about your understanding than a single best move does. One best move can be luck. Forty in a row is not.
Frequently asked questions
Is an excellent move a mistake?
No. It concedes under half a pawn and does not change the assessment of the position. Mistakes begin at 100 centipawns, and inaccuracies at 50.
Should I try to avoid excellent moves and find best ones?
Not as a goal in itself. The difference is usually below what decides club games — recurring mistakes and blunders decide those, which is why they are worth more attention.