I had actually posted a similar question a while ago - what do you prefer to hold on to...knights or bishops?
You are right about the knights--they are a dangerous weapon!
I was surprised to see the people that responded favored the bishop because of it's long-range capablilities.
I guess it's just preference.
2 knights tend to be weaker than two bishops because the bishops tend to complement while the knights fight for the same squares. for example
the Ruy Lopez has taught me the power of the knight, and it's proper usage. However, the bishop does have it's uses... i'd rather have a bishop pair than a knight pair in the endgame any day...
Two Knights or two Bishops are usually stronger than a Knight and a Bishop. (And by usually I mean almost ALL the time.) Two Bishops are generally considered to be stronger than two Knights, although this depends on whether the position is open or closed.
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each piece as I see them: (I have tried to make my views as un-biased as possible.)
Advantages for the Knight:
1.Makes an excellent Blockader of passed pawns.
2.Even an average Knight (Without obvious support points.) is stronger than a Bishop in a closed position.
3.Knights are the best for forking maneuvers.
4.Knights are not blocked by any pieces, and thus are more maneuverable.
5.Knights can move to any color square.
6.Knights work together with Queens better than Bishops do. (The idea behind this, as Capablanca proposed, is that the Bishop can only mimick the moves of the Queen, while the Knight can immediately attack squares the Queen may not be able to reach. Essentially, the Knight gives the Queen a Knight-like movement. This is a hotly-debated topic, however.)
Disadvantages of the Knight:
1.Two Knights cannot checkmate a lone King in the Endgame.
2.A Knight is a short-range piece.
3.Knights are easily threatened by pawns.
4.Knights are not as good as Bishops in positions with passed pawns.
Advantages of the Bishop:
1.Bishops are long-ranged pieces.
2.Two Bishops can checkmate a lone King in the Endgame.
3.Bishops tend to dominate in open positions. (Which occur more often than closed ones.)
4.Bishops compliment each other very well when working on adjacent diagonals.
5.Bishops tend to make better attackers because of their diagonal movement.
6.A Bishop can dominate a Knight that is on the edge of the board.
Disadvantages of Bishops:
1.They are forever doomed to one color square, and if you lose one, those color squares become magnets for the enemy forces.
2.Bishops are easily blocked by their own pawns.
3.Bishops cannot respond to frontal attacks (By a Queen or Rook.) as well as other pieces.
Advantages of the Knight pair:
1.Two Knights can defend each other.
2.Two Knights are extremely effective at helping to advance pawns.
3.Two Knights side-by-side can control twelve squares in marvelous fashion. (Try it on your board. Take two Knights and place them side-by-side. They seem to create two semi-circular walls that they control. It can be an extremely powerful effect.)
Disadvantages of the Knight pair:
1.Easily blocked by pawns.
2. Can't checkmate a lone King in the Endgame.
Advantages of the Bishop pair:
1.If you can open the position up, the Bishop pair will usually ensure you an advantage.
2.Two Bishops are marvelous attackers.
3.Two Bishops cna checkmate a lone King in the Endgame.
4.Two Bishops are good at defense as well as offence because they can essentially be in two places at once because of their sweeping movements.
Disadvantages of the Bishop pair:
1.Is a liability in cramped positions.
In summary, it really depends on the position at the time, and how you use your particular piece. I am an avid fan of knights, but I believe Bishops to be slightly stronger.
If we compare two figures: bishop and knight which one is more dangerous? To my mind two bishops when they work together is a great power as well as two knights but I suppose that knight is the figure we should always keep an eye on, especially when the game is difficult....Forget about one of its move variants and YOU WILL GET IT - FORK OR SOMETHING WORSE though you have just thought over a few moves forward....