Chess Pieces: Beyond the Basics
You know how each piece moves, but do you know their strategic value? The best squares for each piece? When to trade and when to keep? This guide goes beyond the basics.
The King
In the opening and middlegame, the king hides behind castled pawns. But in the endgame, the king becomes a powerful attacking piece, worth roughly 4 points. Centralise your king in the endgame!
Knights and Bishops
Knights: Best in closed positions, on outposts, and near the centre. Worst on the rim ("a knight on the rim is grim"). Bishops: Best in open positions with pawns on the opposite colour. Good vs bad bishops is one of the most important strategic concepts.
Rooks and Queen
Rooks: Need open files to be effective. Place them on the 7th rank (devastating). Double rooks on an open file for maximum power. Queen: The most powerful but also most vulnerable, don't bring it out too early. See queen endgames.