vengence69 wrote:
Here are some facts to consider when comparing the B to the N.
To some players and writers, at the start of the game, Knights tend to be stronger than Bishops until the central pawns are removed, then the Bishops will become more powerful. In open games, the side with the Bishops pair tends to enjoy an advantage while in closed games it would be the side with the 2 Knights or with a Knight and either active or good Bishop. A Knight in all reality can reach all 64 squares on the board as a single unit. however, the Bishops must both be on the board to be effective in reaching all 64 squares. Knights need support points (i.e. pawns) and Bishops need access to diagonals (the longer the better). If a Bishop can be relegated to being a defensive piece or limited to one diagonal he controls, then the knight will hold superior.To demonstrate, this is a position I reached Friday against a friend. I will lightly annotate the position.
sometimes the Knight can be stronger.
yea, a rule to consider when playing shuffle/Chess960 Chess against an Engine: KNIGHTS OUT FIRST!! ( you may want to waste a pawn Tempo without developing the Bishop's, nor Queen's diagonal in return for no Dark or Light Squared weakness(es) close to your Knights. )
Always find a way to Develope Knights first.
'' Make Moves with the least Commitment/Prepatorial need, first, without hindering your Plan to Develope the so called ' Difficult Bishop ' ''.
The relative value of minor pieces cannot be generalised, even in endgames. There are many examples were a completely drawn endgame would be winning if you could simply replace your bishop with a knight, or where two knights would form an adequate fortress against a Q and bishops would have no such resource etc.