I personally am very hesitant because when i play a game and i exchange a knight for a bishop, i consider it a win, but when i am asked this type of question, i usually lean towards the knight.

So, I will have to say knight because it is the piece i play best with. 

I was wondering which piece you guys prefer and why?

Thanks 

I prefer whichever piece is better-placed and better-suited for the position at hand because that's the piece I'm more likely to score with.

Knight random special move L site make confius strategic quicl attack however weakness when fight closer.

Bigshop are best i dark catching exspecialy hind between pawn wall make strong supportment and long step attack.

my opinian,i choise bigshop better because we can not win just two knight and one king but bigshop can.

likesforests wrote:

I prefer whichever piece is better-placed and better-suited for the position at hand because that's the piece I'm more likely to score with.

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 OK but what i mean is,

If you had to play a game with either the bishop or the knights and not both,

which would you chose 

if i had to begin a game with one or the other, i'd choose the knight.

most definately bishop... i only use knights as a sacrifice, not pwnz, i can do my best to take out other bishops with mine, and their rooks, then, i can do my best to protect my queen and cross at last 4 pwnz to swap for queens... by far

bishop > knight imo 

I would take a pair of bishops over a pair of knights in many cases.  The Knights are strong early on, but the pair of bishops will shine in the endgame.

The real question is:  Does this really matter?  Knight and Bishop are practically worth the same.  And it's apples and oranges.

KillaBeez wrote: The real question is:  Does this really matter?  Knight and Bishop are practically worth the same.  And it's apples and oranges.

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 The funny thing is that people each have different opinions and although you may think they are equal, others, like in some comments above, favor one or the other and i always found it to be an interesting question.

If you don 't think it matters, then great for you, just move on. OK?

Everybody always tells me that bishops are better than knights in the long run, but I prefer knights for their tactical advantage in forking pieces. Whenever a knight/bishop trade comes about I always feel obligated to keep my bishop over the knight, but I think I would rather have the knight.

It depends on the situation for me. I don't really get attached to either of them.

I am impartial.

Positional factors aside, I'd rather have two Bishops than two Knights, and I'd rather have one Knight than one Bishop.

DeepGreene wrote: Positional factors aside, I'd rather have two Bishops than two Knights, and I'd rather have one Knight than one Bishop.

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 Thats a great point,

I would have that too 

redhotman> If you had to play a game with either the bishop or the knights and not both, which would you chose

 

The bishop (singular) or the knights (plural)? I'll take the knights, please! But seriously, since the stronger piece is determined by the position, I see having a strong preference towards one or the other as a weakness, although it's entirely possible for a good player to have a slight preference. But, to each their own.

the endgame is generaly what you need to keep in mind,   although the type of position in any period of the game predominently rules the value of the knight or bishop...    a closed game may more often prove a knight to be superior,   or if a bishop is bad (and pathetic), it generaly wouldn't be worth trading a knight for...

 

but no matter what kind of board, i always keep in mind where the pawns are going to end up in the endgame...  if theres going to be an offbalanced fight on both sides of the board  (say 2 vs 3 on one side and 3 vs 2 on the other)   i would much rather the bishop... since it can get to both sides quickly...  altough if its all in one place...  or locked up on one side, then i'd likely try to keep 1 knight...   but i think in all cases i'd prefer 1 knight and 1 bishop vs 2 knights...  

2 bishops over 2 knights in a game that can be opened. Closed positions? Knights please.

 

Endgame with pawns on both sides of the board? Bishops. I think the bishops are slightly more powerful, and most GMs don't trade BxN without a good reason.

 

That said, all depends on the rest of the factors of the board. Having an extra queen doesn't do much if your opponent has a forced mate.

Position aside, I would take the two Bishops, betting I could get through the opening game, and have the two in the middle and end game (ideally).

I personally prefer the knight as it can fork pieces with out the knight it self being taken.

 

I have found Bishops to be more powerful bcs of the ground they cover, and ability to get to far sides of the board.   But like people have said it is largely about position.

Do players tend to set out at the beginning of a game to play a 'Bishop' based or 'Knight' based game 

 

Rob

 

ps.....brand new to the site....having a great time reading forum and playing matches online.