Bishop vs. Knight
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I agree with you... this is something that I've always wonder... personaly I like knights better, but also as you said, even when the two peaces are valuated the same, oportunity can even sometimes make a bishop more valuable than a rook, is depending your stile of game I suppose, but as I said before, I like knighst better
Apr 23, 2008
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#3
Generally I have a slight preference for bishops, but a lot can change depending on the position.
The minor pieces are very schizophrenic. In some games they are very good and in others they are very bad. Often in a game of chess one of the minor pieces is much better than any of the others. You should try to make your minor pieces better than your opponent's!
Here is an example of a knight that is way better than a bishop:
http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/the-better-minor-piece
10q loomis and congrats about that game, gr8 decisions.
Historically, bishops have been considered slightly better than knights. A pair of bishops in the endgame is the strongest combination of minor pieces due their striking distance. Knights have to get closer and can be frightened off more easily when they are approached. Forking is a nice tool but a sharp player will be on the lookout for knight forks at all times which tends to blunt the knights usefulness.
Many experts have agreed that they are equal in value. The reason for this I think is that you can't win with bishop and king vs. king or knight and king vs king. I, personally like knights better mainly because of the elegant forks that you can do with him and the discovered checks are more powerfull-with a bishop you don't have time to atack a rook or queen because the opponent will move it...
The exchange during a game: bishop takes defended knight is worth the trouble if it's a closed game, with many diagonals closed by your pawns wich have in front oponent's pawns so they won't move soon. In this case you have what is called a "bad bishop" so it's a good tactical strategy to get rid of him and of the opponents knight who is devastating in closed games. Viceversa if the conditions above are not fullfiled :) [sorry for the mistakes, I am Romanian]
Who do you prefer?