In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. These values are useful to players, and are also used in computer chess to help the computer figure out what moves to make. Chess is a recreational and competitive game for two players. ... In chess, each player has one of two equivalent sets of pieces of different colors. ... Look up Heuristic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... 1990s Pressure-sensory Chess Computer with LCD screen The idea of creating a chess-playing machine dates back to the eighteenth century. ...

Calculations of the value of pieces provide only a rough idea of the state of play. The exact piece values will depend on the game situation, and can differ considerably from those given here.

Standard valuations

The following is the most common assignment of point values (Capablanca de Firmian 2006:24-25) (Soltis 2004:6). In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ... In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ...

Piece	Value
Queen	9
Rook	5
Bishop	6
Knight	3
Pawn	1

The value of the king is undefined, as its loss causes the loss of the game. In the endgame, when there is little danger of checkmate, the fighting value of the king is about four points (Lasker 1934:73). Queen. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... A rook (♖ ♜,borrowed from Persian رخ rokh, Sanskrit roth, chariot) is a piece in the strategy board game of chess. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... A bishop (♗♝) is a piece in the board game of chess. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... The knight moves in an L shape. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Initial placement of the pawns. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Staunton chess pieces, left to right: pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, and king. ... In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ...

This system has some shortcomings. For instance, three minor pieces (nine points) are often slightly stronger than two rooks (ten points) or a queen (nine points) (Capablanca & de Firmian 2006:24), (Fine & Benko 2003:458, 582). This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ... In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ...

Alternate valuations

Though the 1, 3, 3, 5, 9 system of point totals is generally accepted, many other systems of valuing pieces have been presented. They have mostly been received poorly, although the point system itself falls under similar criticism, as all systems are very rigid and generally fail to take positional factors into account.

Historical valuations

An 1813 book (source unknown, perhaps by Jacob Sarratt) gives these valuations of the pieces:

• Knight 9¼
• Bishop 9¾
• Rook 15
• Queen 23¾
• King as attack piece (in the endgame) 6½
• Pawn 2 at the start, 3¾ in the endgame

If these values are divided by three and rounded, they are more in line with the valuations used now:

• Knight 3.1
• Bishop 3.3
• Rook 5
• Queen 7.9
• King as attacking piece in the endgame 2.2
• Pawn 0.7 in the beginning, 1.3 in the endgame

Howard Staunton in The Chess-Player's Handbook notes that piece values are dependent on the position and the phase of the game (the queen typically less valuable toward the endgame), but gives these values, without explaining how they were obtained (Staunton 1870, 30–31): Howard Staunton Howard Staunton (April 1810–June 22, 1874) was an English chess master and unofficial World Chess Champion. ...

• Pawn 1.00
• Knight 3.05
• Bishop 3.50
• Rook 5.48
• Queen 9.94

In the 1817 edition of Philidor's Studies of Chess, the editor (Peter Pratt) gave the same values. portrait from L’analyze des échecs. ...

The 1843 German book Handbuch des Schachspiels by Paul Rudolf von Bilguer gave Paul Rudolf von Bilguer (the middle name is sometimes spelled also Rudolph, September 21, 1815–September 16, 1840) was a German chess master and chess theoretician of the nineteenth century. ...

• Pawn 1.5
• Knight 5.3
• Bishop 5.3
• Rook 8.6
• Queen 15.5

When standardizing so that a pawn equals one:

• Pawn 1
• Knight 3.5
• Bishop 3.5
• Rook 5.7
• Queen 10.3

Yevgeny Gik gave these figures based only on average mobility:

• Pawn 1
• Knight 2.4
• King 3 (as an attacking and defensive piece)
• Bishop 4
• Rook 6.4
• Queen 10.4

but Andrew Soltis points out problems with that chart and other mathematical methods of evaluation (Soltis 2004:10-12). Andrew Soltis is a chess author and columnist as well as a Grandmaster. ... In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ...

More recent point evaluations

Grandmaster Larry Evans gives the values: The title International Grandmaster is awarded to superb chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. It is a lifetime title, in chess literature usually abbreviated as GM or IGM (this is in contrast to WGM for Woman Grandmaster and IM for International Master). ... Larry Melvyn Evans (born March 23, 1932) is an American chess player and journalist. ...

• pawn = 1 point
• knight = 3½ points
• bishop = 3¾ points
• rook = 5 points
• queen = 10 points (Evans 1967:73, 76).

(Evans initially gives the bishop a value of 3½ points but later changes it to 3¾ points.) A bishop is usually slightly more powerful than a knight, but not always—it depends on the position (Evans 1967:73, 76), (Mayer 1997:7). In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ... In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ... In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ...

Another system is used by Max Euwe and Hans Kramer in Volume 1 of their The Middlegame, with values Machgielis (Max) Euwe (last name is pronounced /ø:wə/) (May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess Grandmaster and Mathematician. ...

• pawn = 1 point
• knight = 3½ points
• bishop = 3½ points
• rook = 5½ points
• queen = 10 points.

Bobby Fischer gave the value of the bishop as 3¼ points (with the other pieces having the traditional value). Robert James Bobby Fischer (born March 9, 1943) is a United States-born chess Grandmaster who in 1972 became the only US-born chessplayer to become the official World Chess Champion. ...

An early Soviet chess program used

• pawn = 1
• knight = 3½
• bishop = 3½
• rook = 5
• queen = 9½.

Another popular system is

• pawn = 1
• knight = 3
• bishop = 3
• rook = 4½
• queen = 9 (Soltis 2004:6).

In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ...

Larry Kaufman's research

International master Larry Kaufman performed a computer analysis of thousands of games by masters to determine the average relative value of the pieces. He determined (to the nearest ¼ point) the following: The title International Master is awarded to outstanding chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. The title is open to both men and women. ...

• pawn = 1 point
• knight = 3¼ points
• bishop = 3¼ points
• rook = 5 points
• queen = 9¾ points.

Add an additional ½ point for having both bishops. Kaufman elaborates about how the values of knights and rooks change, depending on the number of pawns on the board: "A further refinement would be to raise the knight's value by 1/16 and lower the rook's value by ⅛ for each pawn above five of the side being valued, with the opposite adjustment for each pawn short of five." (Kaufman 1999)

Hans Berliner's system

World Correspondence Chess Champion Hans Berliner gives the following valuations, based on experience and computer experiments: Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon. ... Hans Jack Berliner (born January 27, 1929) Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, is a former World Correspondence Chess Champion. ...

• pawn = 1
• knight = 3.2
• bishop = 3.33
• rook = 5.1
• queen = 8.8

There are adjustments for the rank and file of a pawn and adjustments for the pieces depending on how open or closed the position is. Bishops, rooks, and queens gain up to 10 percent more value in open positions and lose up to 20 percent in closed positions. Knights gain up to 50 percent in closed positions and lose up to 30 percent in the corners and edges of the board. The value of a good bishop may be 10 percent or more than that of a bad bishop (Berliner 1999:14-18). This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ...

Different types of doubled pawns (from Berliner).

There are different types of doubled pawns, see the diagram. White's doubled pawns on the b-file are the best situation in the diagram, since advancing the pawns and exchanging can get them un-doubled and mobile. The doubled b-pawn is worth 0.75 points. If the black pawn on a6 was on c6, it would not be possible to dissolve the doubled pawn, and it would be worth only 0.5 points. The doubled pawn on the f2 is worth about 0.5 points. The second white pawn on the h-file is worth only 0.33 points, and additional pawns on the file would be worth only 0.2 points (Berliner 1999:18-20). Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... In chess, doubled pawns are two pawns of the same player residing on the same file. ... In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ...

Whites b, c, and e pawns are passed. ... A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game (the opening moves). ... EndGame is the name of a 1997 story arc of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book published by published by Archie Comics. ... In chess, an isolated pawn is a pawn for which there is no friendly pawn on an adjacent file. ... Whites pawns on the a, b and, c files are conneced, and whites g and h pawns are connected. ... Whites b, c, and e pawns are passed. ...

Changing valuations in the endgame

The relative value of pieces changes as a game progresses to the endgame. The relative value of pawns and rooks may increase, and the value of bishops may increase also, though usually to a lesser extent. The knight tends to lose some power, and the strength of the queen may be slightly lessened, as well. Some examples follow. EndGame is the name of a 1997 story arc of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book published by published by Archie Comics. ...

• A queen versus two rooks

• In the middlegame they are equal
• In the endgame, the two rooks are somewhat more powerful. With no other pieces on the board, two rooks are equal to a queen and a pawn

• A rook versus two minor pieces

• In the opening and middlegame, a rook and two pawns are weaker than two bishops; equal to or slightly weaker than a bishop and knight; and equal to two knights
• In the endgame, a rook and one pawn are equal to two knights; and equal or slightly weaker than a bishop and knight. A rook and two pawns are equal to two bishops (Alburt & Krogius 2005:402-3).

• Bishops are often more powerful than rooks in the opening. Rooks are usually more powerful than bishops in the middlegame, and rooks dominate the minor pieces in the endgame (Seirawan 2003:ix).

• As the tables in Berliner's system show, the values of pawns changes dramatically in the endgame. In the opening and middlegame, pawns on the central files are more valuable. In the late middlegame and endgame the situation reverses, and pawns on the wings become more valuable due to their likelihood of becoming an outside passed pawn and threatening to promote. When there is about fourteen points of material on both sides, the value of pawns on any file is about equal. After that, wing pawns become more valuable (Berliner 1999:16-20).

In chess, the middlegame refers to the portion of the game that happens immediately after the opening (usually the first move after the procession of moves that make up a standard opening) and blends somewhat with the endgame. ... In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ... A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game (the opening moves). ... In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ... Promotion is a chess term describing the transformation of a pawn that reaches the eighth square into the players choice of a queen, knight, bishop, or rook. ... In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ...

See also

• The exchange (chess)
• Computer chess
• Claude Elwood Shannon
• Evaluation function

This article needs to be wikified. ... 1990s Pressure-sensory Chess Computer with LCD screen The idea of creating a chess-playing machine dates back to the eighteenth century. ... Claude Shannon Claude Elwood Shannon (April 30, 1916 – February 24, 2001), an American electrical engineer and mathematician, has been called the father of information theory, and was the founder of practical digital circuit design theory. ... An evaluation function, also known as heuristic evaluation function or static evaluation function by game-playing programs to estimate the value or goodness of a position in the minimax algorithm. ...

References

• Alburt, Lev & Nikolai Krogius (2005), Just the Facts!: Winning Endgame Knowledge in One Volume (second ed.), Chess Information and Research Center (distributed by W. W. Norton), ISBN 1-889323-15-2

• Berliner, Hans (1999), The System: A World Champion's Approach to Chess, Gambit Publications, ISBN 1-901983-10-2

• Capablanca, Jose & Nick de Firmian (2006), Chess Fundamentals (Completely Revised and Updated for the 21st Century), Random House, ISBN 0-8129-3681-7

• Evans, Larry (1967), New Ideas in Chess, Cornerstone Library (1984 Dover edition, ISBN 0-486-28305-4

• Fine, Reuben & Pal Benko (2003), Basic Chess Endings (1941), McKay, ISBN 0-8129-3493-8

•  Kaufman, Larry (March 1999). "The Evaluation of Material Imbalances". Chess Life. Retrieved on 2006-06-21. 

• Lasker, Emanuel (1934), Lasker's Chess Primer, Billings (1988 reprint), ISBN 0-7134-6241-8

• Mayer, Steve (1997), Bishop versus Knight: The Verdict, Batsford, ISBN 1-879479-73-7

• Seirawan, Yasser (2003), Winning Chess Endings, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-348-9

• Soltis, Andy (2004), Rethinking the Chess Pieces, Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-8904-9

• Staunton, Howard (1870), The Blue Book of Chess Teaching the Rudiments of the Game, and Giving an Analysis of All the Recognized Openings, Porter & Coates

• 80-Square Chess, E. Trice in ICGA Journal Vol. 27, No. 2 - June 2004, p. 81-96.

Lev Osipovich Alburt (b. ... Nikolai Krogius (sometimes spelled Nikolay) (born Saratov, July 22, 1930) is a Russian Chess Grandmaster, psychologist, chess coach, chess administrator, and author. ... W. W. Norton & Company is an American book publishing company that has remained independent since its founding. ... Hans Jack Berliner (born January 27, 1929) Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, is a former World Correspondence Chess Champion. ... José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (November 19, 1888 - March 8, 1942) was a Cuban world-class chess master in the early to mid-twentieth century. ... Nick de Firmian (born July 26, 1957), is a chess grandmaster and three time U.S. chess champion, winning in 1987, 1995, and 1999. ... // Random House is a publishing house based in New York City. ... Larry Melvyn Evans (born March 23, 1932) is an American chess player and journalist. ... Dover Publications is a book publisher founded in 1941. ... Reuben Fine (October 11, 1914 - March 26, 1993) was one of the best chess players in the world during the 1930s. ... Pál Benkő (born July 15, 1928 in Amiens) is a chess grandmaster, author, and composer of endgame studies and chess problems. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Emanuel Lasker (December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German World Chess Champion, mathematician, and philosopher born at Berlinchen in Brandenburg (now Barlinek in Poland). ... Yasser Seirawan Yasser Seirawan (Arabic: ) (born March 24, 1960) is a chess grandmaster and 4-time US-champion. ... Andrew Soltis is a chess author and columnist as well as a Grandmaster. ... Howard Staunton Howard Staunton (April 1810–June 22, 1874) was an English chess master and unofficial World Chess Champion. ...

External links

• Relative Value of Chess Pieces
• Relative Value of Pieces and Principles of Play from The Modern Chess Instructor by Wilhelm Steinitz
• About the Values of Chess Pieces by Ralph Betza, 1996.
• Larry Kaufman article
• some historical evaluations