{"id":1025,"date":"2022-05-10T18:04:07","date_gmt":"2022-05-10T16:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chessily.com\/?p=1025"},"modified":"2022-06-06T17:27:54","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T15:27:54","slug":"bishop-or-knight-which-is-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chessily.com\/questions\/bishop-or-knight-which-is-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Bishop or Knight: Which is Better?"},"content":{"rendered":"
A common question beginners often ask, is whether the bishop<\/a> or the knight<\/a> is better in chess. This is a totally fair and important question, as \u2013 especially in the opening<\/a> \u2013 exchanges between knight and bishop are common. Often, the decision to engage in these exchanges is based on a gut feeling. But fear not: In this guide we’ll answer the question of whether the bishop or knight is the better piece.<\/p>\n Looking purely at the relative value of both pieces, we quickly learn why the question of “which piece is better?” is so commonly asked in regards to bishop vs. knight. Both pieces are generally valued at three pawns.\u00a0<\/strong>So they should be equally strong on the board, right? \ud83e\udd14 Well, as is often the case in chess, the answer isn’t quite that simple. The value of bishop vs. knight highly depends on the current position, as both pieces work best in totally different environments.<\/p>\n It is no surprise that the bishop is excellent in more open positions, as it is clearly a long range piece. As long as there are no pieces in the way, the bishop can move (and attack) across the whole board. That makes the bishop the optimal piece for open positions, in which he has plenty of free diagonals to move on.<\/p>\n Open positions are characterized by having only a few pieces and pawns left on the board. Endgames<\/a> are almost always open positions, hence the bishop is often superior in them as well.<\/p>\n A good example of such a position is the following:<\/p>\nBishop vs. Knight \u2013 Value<\/h1>\n
The Bishop is Better in Open Positions<\/h1>\n