Strategy
Bishop vs Knight: Which One Is Actually Stronger?
We're taught that the bishop and the knight are both worth three pawns. Their moves are so different, though, that this always felt a little strange to us. Surely there are cases where one is stronger than the other? There are. Whether you call it bishop vs knight or knight vs bishop, it comes down to one question: is the position open or closed?
In an Open Position
Let's start with a quick definition. A position is open when plenty of files, ranks, and diagonals are free for the pieces to use. When that's not the case, we call the position closed.
In an open position, the bishop comes out ahead of the knight. The Cuban world champion Capablanca explained this using the position below.
This position is open. Plenty of files, ranks, and diagonals stand free. The bishop is a long-range piece, so it can support White's kingside pawn majority while also reaching all the way across the board to hold back Black's queenside majority. The knight can only cover one part of the board at a time. That's why the bishop is stronger than the knight here.
In a Closed Position, Which Is Stronger: The Bishop or the Knight?
This time the Austrian master Rudolf Spielmann helps us out with the two positions below. In a closed position, you need to look at the color of the squares the pawns and the bishop sit on.
In this first position, the bishop is boxed in by its own pawns. We call this a bad bishop. Here the knight is the stronger piece.
In this second position, the bishop belongs to Black, and it can go after White's pawns instead of being blocked by its own. That makes it a good bishop, and its extra mobility makes it stronger than the knight.
Now you've got real arguments for deciding when it's worth trading a bishop for a knight, or the other way around.
What to Read Next
- For the bigger picture on positional chess, our guide to chess strategy covers everything from pawn structure to piece activity.
- Two bishops working together change the calculation entirely. See our guide to the bishop pair and why the pair can be worth more than a single strong piece.
- Want a refresher on how the knight actually moves? Check out our guide to the chess knight.
That's the full picture on whether the bishop or the knight comes out on top, when, and why. Feel free to share this guide if it helped.
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