Pieces Value
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Nope... the Knight is 3.25 and the Bishop is 3.25. ;)
P (pawn)= 1
BB(bishop pair)= +½
R(rook) = 5
B(bishop) = 3¼
N(knight) = 3¼
Q(queen) = 9¾
The old standard is that the queen is 9, R = 5, kn and B = 3, P = 1. The king as a piece is worth < 3.
However, the values change depending on the position.
In an open game, for instance B > Kn. Compare that to a closed game where the Kn > B. I was taught that in an open game to value the B 3.25 and knight 3 or 2.75 and just the opposite in a closed game.
Some posters above seem to value the bishop over the knight - I think this is a mistake. A bishop developed poorly is scarcely worth more than a pawn! I will gladly trade an undeveloped or trapped bishop for an active knight any day.... but in the endgame, generally the bishop is slighly better and I would recommend avoiding a trade for a knight....
Loomis posted the definitive link, all else is irrelevant IMHO
I think that each one value can change due to any situation of the game. At the end of the game, a pawn can be worth like 9 points if it reachs the end of the board and exchange it in for a queen. Rooks are useful for castling and, protecting each other with on in front of the other which makes them powerful in offense and defense. Knights are useful in tight situations and bishops in open situations. The Queen is powerful and a very valueable piece....BUT sometimes one becomes to focused on protecting his queen or attacking the opponents queen.
At the begging of a game I would Rate the pieces in this order:
Queen:9
Rook:5
Knight:3.25
Bishop: 3.25
Pawn: 1
In the middle of a game (tight situations) i would rate them as.
Queen:8 (can be a used as bait by enemy)
Rook:4.5
Knight: 4
Bishop: 3
Pawn 2
At the end of the game i would rate them as...
Queen:9
Pawn:9
Rook: 5.7
Bishop: 4.5
Knight:3
As you can see, everyone has their different ratings of piece value, but it also depends on the situation.
Jan 3, 2008
0
#26
"Location! Location! Location!" is business advice. "Position" is chess advice. The traditional numbers are good enough to use as long as you know the purpose is to help evaluate the position. When I played Larry Kaufman four years ago, I judged that I could answer his threats by exchanging my queen for two rooks as he won a piece because I would trap his knight. He couldn't win, but I couldn't either. His queen was able to keep checking my king. It would have been risky for him to try to win. We evaluated the position. We did not simply do arithmetic, which is only a partial guide. My two rooks and his queen gave each of us counterplay in that specific position. In other positions, one side dominates.
Former world champion Max Euwe came up with this. He was a mathematician so I think he should be quite accurate. The relationship between knight, bishop, and rook are the same just the queen is a little stronger and minor pieces are slightly better than three pawns.
pawn 1
bishop 3 1/2
knight 3 1/2
rook 5 1/2
queen 10
In Yasser Seirwan's book Winning chess Strategies he has this setup on page 7.
pawn 1
knight 2
bishop 3
rook 5
queen 9
I find his assessment of the knight rather odd because he later says on page 79 he says they are of equal value which is 3 points
Jan 3, 2008
0
#29
rich wrote: I never trade a bishop for a knight, because a bishop is more powerful in {most} positions.
i totally agree, straight out of chess books
i think the best way to evaluate the value is by how they compare by what combination of pieces you have and not their numerical value such as
1. A rook and bishop is better than a rook and knight
2. but a Queen and kinght is better than a queen with a bishop
3. three minor pieces are better than a queen or even two rooks especially with the bishop pair
4. a bishop is good against three pawns but a knight will have a tough time handling them
GreenLaser> When I played Larry Kaufman four years ago
I tracked down that game... excellent tactical maneuver...
Greenlaser should have moved his pawn up one which would protect his queen.
silverskyski, stopping a queen from giving perpetual checks can be tricky. 40.f3?! Qd2+ 41.Kh3 Qxe3 42.Rf8 Qh5+ 43.Kg2 Qe2+ so Black can still obtain a draw by perpetual check in this line, assuming that's all he wants... and he may want more.
Rich, put the bishop and knight anywhere you like and the knight can get to 64 squares while the bishop can only get to 32. So, I agree, it's clear which is the more powerful.
After thousands of games of blitz there is no doubt in my mind that the knight is better in blitz games. Another thing to consider is this : bishop can pin something, fork things or skewer (x-ray attack), the knight can only do one of those 3 things.
rich wrote: loomis is saying a knight is as powerful as 8 rooks no that's impossible.
What??
Markle wrote:
the trouble with the point system for the pieces is you have to take into account the position on the board sometimes a lowly pawn can be worth way more then a queen.
Considering that a queen can threaten and move to any squares a pawn can(and more), I'm not quite sure a pawn could ever outperform a queen, let alone be worth way more. I challenge you to post a position in which a pawn would be less powerful if replaced with a queen. Keep in mind that equality will not do. The position must suffer with the replacement.
Markle> sometimes a lowly pawn can be worth way more then a queen.
silentfilmstar> I challenge you to post a position in which a pawn would be less powerful if replaced with a queen... the position must suffer with the replacement.
Sometimes a queen is too strong. Here's a position I encounterd yesterday. It's Black to move, and White wins easily. But replace his g6 pawn with a queen and he only draws... in this case the queen's more powerful, but the pawn's worth way more! :)
In a game you don't have to bother adding fractions so that the point convention holds (using whole numbers): Q=9, R=5, B=3, N=3, P=1. The King's fighting value = 3 (but can't be lost). Majority put a fraction more points to the bishop (around 3.25). Of course the position changes these values: for example, a pawn on the 7th rank is worth more than 1 (maybe 5)...