Bishop or Knight

Personally what would you prefer?

1- Both Bishops

2- Both Knights

3- A Bishop and A knight

#1 in almost any scenario except when all the pawns are still on the board in the middle game, then I strongly prefer #2.

Seriously, who would want #3?

almost always #1

but if all the pawns are on the board, I would choose #2 or #3 depending on the pieces of my opponent

Middlegame: #2, endgame: #1.

i feel a combo is anyday better than pure bishops or pure knights!

personally, i like to use my knight tandom in the early-middle game to wreak havoc on my opponent while keeping my bishops guarding from afar. i'll send in both knights to attack and being willing to trade/sac them off when required. then i'll bring my bishop tandom in for the late-middle/end game.

i also find a good knight+bishop tandom attack good for middle game as well sometimes (depending on position).

it depends how you maneuver your pieces but for me knight is better because this piece has special skill.

There was some statistical analysis going around showing that in master play two Bishops aka "the Bishop pair" tends to be good, worth 7pts versus 6 pts for two Ns or Bishop and N. Modern masters tend to like Bishops better than Ns. About the last truly great master to prefer Ns to Bs was Pillsbury... two Bs or B and N can mate the lone king, whereas two Ns cannot... 

All that said... the interesting thing is to make what you've got, the best, in your individual game. 

Make your N better than his B! (see J Silman, for a lot of info on this  concept) or vice versa... another element that people often don't consider is what other pieces are around. Queen and N work well together.

Consider this inane question: which do you prefer the Light Square B or the Dark Square Bishop... of course in any given position one might be stronger than the other.

Which do you prefer, the Queen's Bishop, or the King's Bishop?... well, tell me first whether I'm playing French defense with Black, or QGD with white, please!

I've been concentrating recently on preserving the bishop pair. You frequently hear phrases like "black has suffered structural damage but has the bishop pair as compensation" (Ruy exchange variation, for example). As you're supposed to try to make plans in chess, I try to keep the Bishop pair and open diagonals for them to use.

It rarely works, but only because i'm not vey good :(

I agree generaly, but there are positions where you would not even give up a knight for a rook ... at least not right away. If a knight for instance has a strong outpost that is deep in enemy territory. Plus knight tactics are some of the most often missed. Ones that involve a knight fork at the end of a combination for instance.

JG27Pyth said :

All that said... the interesting thing is to make what you've got, the best, in your individual game.

Well said! I think it is the way to go

Probably the two bishop pair,they are devastating in an endgame.

If it's crowded, I would definitely choose 2 knights. If the position is open, 2 bishops. Semi-open, a combination will do. Two bishops are powerful in an open game in the middle towards end game position because of their long-range attack.

The bishop pair is most often best, then a bishop and knight. Two knights is rarely of use in comparison. Two knights cannot force checkmate; nor do they work together as well with the other pieces as a bishop and knight. The bishop pair on an open board can be terrifying.

i am sure a lot of knight fans would disagree..agreed they cannot force a mate..but their forking powers are not to be underestimated at all

Bishops can fork, they can also waste a tempo wthout changing the essentials of a position. Knights cannot do this.

I do like the looks of a knight if it has teeth, while the bishop is a funky looking whistle.

i THINK 3 BISHOP AND KNIGHT

To be quite frank, it depends on the position. If closed, I prefer Knights. If open, I prefer Bishops. A Bishop + a Knight, however, usually doesn't work so well as two Bishops or two Knights. 

As to my personal preference, I actually do much better with two Knights than with two Bishops. In practice, however, it all depends on the situation. If I can force a particular position which will favor my Bishop pair, then I will most certainly follow that strategy.

One of the biggest biases in chess is that the player with the Bishop pair has the advantage. This is all very good and well in theory, but the positional peculiarities of a certain game is what really decides the issue.

i say a bishop pair is slightly more powerful cause they can still mate..2 knights solo cannot!