It is called the "Minor Exchange"
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I've seen it happen quite a bit. Obviously it depends... if you can force a pawn recapture or if your piece doesn't have many strong places to go, it's usually a good thing to exchange.
Oct 17, 2012
0
#4
i will look into the "minor exchange" ty. also i see when you can force a pawn exchange it can cause chaos at times. it seems such a powerful move especially when you can poke a hole in the king side. i wonder why it is not used more often. well thats what im trying to find out 
phydeaux wrote:
rarely when i play an individual do they take my pinned knight after move a3 or a6 or h3 or h6 early in the opening. but the computer on this site rated at 1200 takes it nearly every time. where can i find information on the pros and cons of this move?
It's hard to say because all exchanges are evaluated by looking at the pieces left on the board. The ones that come off aren't part of the game anymore.
Like you said, if you can open up the king, or double some pawns it may be good. But just bishop takes knight in general can't be judged without a specific position.
There is at least one famous game known for this kind of decision. On his way to the world championship Fischer played a famous game against former world champion Petrosian where Fischer gave up his "strong" knight for his opponent's "bad" bishop. It seemed so ludicrous the GMs watching from the press room scoffed. 12 moves later Petrosian resigned :p
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044351
Oct 17, 2012
0
#6
ty for the info. i also realize it is a very general question and depends on the specific circumstances. however, just asking the question has brought nice answers and i appreciate that. going to the game now 
That was a confusing link to follow as it was mostly ramble. Somewhere buried in it however is the pgn. I have uploaded it here. Thanks for sharing, it's a GREAT game!!
Oct 18, 2012
0
#8
i liked that page also. i watched a couple of the games at random and they are very instructive. when you watch the higher rated players you see combinations that look so simple and obvious that would never enter my mind haha
Disgruntled_Sheep wrote:
That was a confusing link to follow as it was mostly ramble. Somewhere buried in it however is the pgn. I have uploaded it here. Thanks for sharing, it's a GREAT game!!
If you have java it will display the game automatically much the same way you see it on chess.com.
rarely when i play an individual do they take my pinned knight after move a3 or a6 or h3 or h6 early in the opening. but the computer on this site rated at 1200 takes it nearly every time. where can i find information on the pros and cons of this move?