If you've learned how the pieces move you probably realise that some pieces are better than others. There are some really strong guys in your team and some that are not so strong. Let's have a look and see how much each of the pieces is worth.

We'll start with the Pawn. A Pawn is a pretty feeble sort of guy. He's worth just ONE POINT.

Next, the Knight. A Knight is usually worth about three pawns. We say that a Knight is worth THREE POINTS>

Moving on to the Bishop... A Bishop is usually about as good as a Knight. The Bishop is also worth THREE POINTS.

Next, take the Rook. The Rook is a pretty strong guy. He's stronger than the Knight because he can move further. He's stronger than the Bishop because he can use the whole board. The Rook is worth FIVE POINTS.

The strongest guy of all in your team is the Queen. The Queen is like a Rook and Bishop together. And then some. We say a Queen is worth NINE POINTS. Wow!

Finally, the King. What's the largest number you can think of? A billion? A trillion? Infinity? Well, THAT'S how much the King is worth. The WHOLE GAME.

Tarquin Creepe says: "These figures are only a rough guide for beginners. "They slightly undervalue Bishops and Queens. "More often than not, a Bishop is slightly better than a Knight "A Bishop and a Knight are usually better than a Rook and a Pawn. "Strong players learn to rely on experience and judgement rather than points."

In chess, as in real life, a bigger army, with more men, like this one will usually (but not always) beat...

... a smaller army, like this one. So, when you're playing chess, try to make sure that you've got a bigger, stronger army than your opponent.

Let's think a bit more about armies. Suppose an army of 1000 men was fighting an army of 999 men. Not much in it, I think you'll agree. But suppose 998 men on each side get killed. Now you have an army of two men against an army of one man. Twice as good, isn't it?

Very much the same thing is true when you play chess. So, if you're ahead on points the easiest way to win is often to EXCHANGE PIECES. But it's not quite as simple as that. Sometimes you need to QUEEN A PAWN to win the game. And the more pawns you have the easier it is to queen one of them.

So, we have two pieces of advice for you: 1. IF YOU'RE AHEAD ON POINTS TRY TO EXCHANGE PIECES (QUEENS, ROOKS, BISHOPS, KNIGHTS) BUT NOT PAWNS. 2. IF YOU'RE BEHIND ON POINTS TRY TO EXCHANGE PAWNS BUT NOT PIECES. (Note that we sometimes use 'pieces' to mean anything other than pawns.)

You've now reached the end of the lesson. To return to the main menu press "finish" To repeat the lesson press "start" Click here for a quiz on the value of the pieces.