Good and bad pieces
In short
A bishop is “bad” when its own pawns stand on its colour and block it. A knight is bad on the edge or without stable squares.
By the end you can
- Identify good and bad bishops
- Improve the worst piece
The lesson
A bishop is “bad” when its own pawns stand on its colour and block it. A knight is bad on the edge or without stable squares. Pieces that have no targets or are stuck defending are effectively worth less.
A strong rule of thumb: find your worst piece and improve it. Re-route a knight to a central outpost, trade a bad bishop for a good enemy piece, or put pawns on the opposite colour of your bishop.
Key points to remember
- Bad bishop: own pawns on its colour
- Knights need outposts
- Improve your worst piece
- Trade bad pieces for good ones
Examples
Homework
Play one guess-the-move game from a classical player and note every piece improvement.
More strategy lessons
- Reading a position: the imbalances (Class D)
- Outposts and open files (Class D)
- The isolated queen’s pawn (IQP) (Class C)
- Carlsbad structure and the minority attack (Class C)
- Hanging pawns and pawn breaks (Class C)
- Which pieces to exchange (Class B)