Chess lessons › Chess strategy
The two bishops
Two bishops together are worth more than two knights in an open position, and much less once it closes.
The idea
Two bishops together are strong, best once the position is open.
- White has both bishops; Black has two knights instead.
- With no pawns in the centre, the bishops reach both wings.
- Swap one bishop for a knight and most of White’s edge is gone.
In a game: With both bishops, open the position; against them, trade one of the bishops off.
How the lesson begins
A bishop and a knight are each worth about three pawns, but two bishops together are often worth more than that. Having both bishops when your opponent does not is called the bishop pair.
Here White has the two bishops against two knights. No pawns stand in the centre, so the diagonals are open: the bishop on d3 reaches a6 on one wing and h7 on the other, and the bishop on g5 reaches c1 and h4. The engine rates White as clearly better, with the material level.
A question
The same position, but White’s bishop on d3 is now a knight. White has a bishop and a knight against two knights. How much of White’s edge is left?
Show the answer
Very little: most of the edge came from having both bishops.
Right. The engine now calls it close to level. Two bishops cover squares of both colours and work together, and that is what was worth more than a pawn here.