fbpx

Chess Bishops

chess bishopBishops are worth 3 pawns or 3 points and can travel diagonally as long as they can travel without hopping over pieces. Bishops work really well in open space. If there is not a lot of action in the middle of a chess board and the bishops have long diagonals to attack and defend, they will be much more effective. If the middle of the chess board is blocked by pawns, the effectiveness of the bishop reduces dramatically as they can’t hop of the pawns and can no longer move very far.

It is also important to consider that a bishop can never leave the color square that it starts on. That means that two bishops together usually work really well together as they can cover the entire board with a limited number of moves if they are not blocked. Even though bishops are worth the same as knights, many people prefer bishops early in a game as most games start open. Once the game progresses, if the game starts to become closed, and the board gets cramped, players will then favor knights. Make sure that if you have bishops you do not trap your bishops and always make sure they are being used to their full potential.

Watch the video below to see a detailed explanation of bishops.