VALUE OF THE PIECES
A chess player needs to know the value of each piece, to see if a trade is good or bad. Here is a list of what each pawn and piece is worth:
This list is only to give you a rough idea. Here are some more facts that should be helpful.
(1) Pawn Values: The closer a pawn is to the center of the board, the more it is worth. The reason is the center squares are worth more, and pawns are needed to control them. So a queen-pawn is worth more than a bishop-pawn; a bishop-pawn is worth more than a knight-pawn; a knight-pawn is worth more than a rook-pawn. We use the same idea on the king-side. A king-pawn is worth more than a bishop-pawn, and so forth.
(2) Minor Piece Values: The bishops and knights are called “minor pieces.” On our list of values, you can see that the bishop is given the same value as the knight. They are close in value, but not exactly the same. The bishop is worth a little more in most positions; the knight is worth a little more in some positions. The way to tell which piece is better is to look at the pawns. If there are more than one pair of pawns locked up against each other, this is called a “closed position,” and knights like them. Pawns do not stop knights from hopping over them. Pawns get in the way of bishops. Bishops like an “open position,” where some of the pawns have been traded, and don’t get in their way.
A bishop moves on the same color squares the whole game. At the start, your bishops can cover all the squares on the board. If there is a trade of pieces and you still have both your bishops, and your opponent does not, this is good for you and bad for him. You may be able to control some squares that his bishop can’t defend. This situation where you have the better game because your bishops can cover both light and dark squares, but your opponent has only one bishop (or no bishops) and can’t cover both colors, is called the “bishop pair.” It is extra strong in an open position with about half the pawns gone.
(3) Major piece values: The queen and rooks are called “major pieces.” In the early part of the game, they do not get into the fight as fast as the minor pieces. The rooks usually do not get into the fight right away. The rooks do not have their full powers when there are a lot of pawns on the board. Near the end of the game, the rooks get a lot stronger.
(4) Even trades: An even trade, like a queen for a queen or a knight for a knight, may not be as even as it looks! Here are some ideas. If you are behind in material, try not to trade queens. If you have an attack against the enemy king, try not to trade pieces. If you have a piece that has moved and is in the fight, try not to trade it for a piece that has not yet moved. If a trade messes up your pawns in some way, that trade has hurt you.
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