I am a person trying to get better using Lucas chess. I am using the competitive mode and starting with the easiest engine. The tutor will suggest moves from time to time and will have a number associated with my move and the suggestion one (see below).
I have lost games taking the hints because I assumed largely positive numbers mean a stronger move. Are these pawn units and how is it calculated?
These numbers are the score given to the position by the engine. In your particular case (screenshot) these are the scores after the respective move is made. But of course you can also evaluate the current position in the same way.
Positive values mean that white is better, negative values that black is better, a value of zero means equal. So if you are playing black, you should aim for very small numbers (=negative numbers with large absolute value).
The actual numbers are made up based on many factors. The actual factors and the weight given to them will be different between engines, but all (decent) engines would give most weight to the material. And as you guessed right a value of 1 corresponds to one pawn (see your example where black has one pawn less and the evaluation is around +1).
Some other factors and a very simplified view of how they could be implemented on a computer are:
In my experience positions with evaluation between about -1 and +1 still have a good chance of ending in a draw (assuming best play) while starting from 1.5 or 2 the games have a decisive result (assuming best play).
The points are given by a chess engine. I believe Lucas uses the Stockfish engine.
In short, the engine scores your position approximately by the number of pawns. If you have 1.00, you would have an extra pawn advantage.
The magnitude indicates how strong or weak your position is. Positive means advantage for White, and negative translates to advantage for Black.
You probably are losing because you aren't reading the engine indications correctly. If you are playing White, the larger positive number is the better move, while if you are playing Black, then you want a 'large' negative number on the reading.
