Chess with Hunter and Witch evert823 - rychessmaster1

I resign.

I just dropped a Bishop.

I thought the Hunter is stronger than a Rook, but he is also vulnerable because he can't defend the adjacent squares.

Bxi7 is a weak response.

Bi3 is a good move but I'm not really seeing what black's plan is after Hh1. Grab it with the rook? That seems an unsatisfactory reward for such an attack, it's not clear black goes on to win.

Black is clearly better after Hh1, but Bi5 is countered by i4, Rh2 is difficult because of Bg1, so I'm not really sure how black gets more than an exchange of questionable value. If black decides not to give up the rook for the hunter, well white is a pawn up and once that king is safe he can begin to relax.

While I much prefer to be black after Bi3, I'm not sure what I do after Hh1. I would need to spend more time analysing than I have done.

I thought I'd have another look to see what I'd play as black after Hh1, and I noticed the hunter now protects the rook, unpinning the j-pawn and thus attacking the bishop. Black needs a tempo move or to retreat the bishop. Bh4 meets i3 so that's out, I think it's Bf6, which at least comes with a tempo on the b2 pawn.

I really don't want to give up a rook for a hunter. A bishop, sure, but not a rook.

That's one of the things that I like about the hunter. Its value fills the "hole" between the minor pieces (3), and a rook (5). I place the value of the hunter to be around 4.3:

Value for moving: 3 (same as guard or king)
Value for capturing: 5 (about same as rook)
Overall value: 4.3 (a little more than halfway between guard and rook)

Yeah I'd put it around 4, maybe not so high as you but my intuition tells me it's somewhere between a bishop and a rook. I'd need to play a game with hunter to get a better idea. And yes, it's nice to have a piece that fills that void... it means exchanges will need more consideration of position. I'll probably play with the hunter in my next "friendly" game.