Chess: Material Rewards

Chess Sets     Material Rewards     Sissa's game     Deep Blue

In chess, as in war, some combatants are more important than others. Rank hath its privileges, and privilege on the chess board is measured in the material value assigned to each chess piece. As the infantryman is the basic unit of an army, the pawn is the basic unit of the chess board, and is given a material numerical rank of one point. All the other chess pieces are valued in relation to the pawn. Knights and bishops, while they may question the system, are ranked at three points, rooks at five, and the Queen, at nine. The King has no ranking; the reason for this will shortly be made clear. You start the game with a total of thirty-nine material points. Eight pawns, two knights, two bishops, two rooks, one Queen, and one King. If, during the course of the game, you lose one of those pieces, you also lose its material points. And if you trade a piece for a piece of lesser value, say, a bishop for a pawn, you also lose material value. You would need to capture two more pawns, or a bishop or knight, to compensate for the loss of that bishop. So it makes sense that a King has no material value, because if a King is captured, the game ends. One of the basic tenets of chess is that a material advantage is the advantage most easily converted to victory. If the players are even regarding the elements of space, development, and King safety, the one with material superiority is in a position to force concessions. And even the lowly pawn can be more valuable, depending on its position, than a more highly ranked piece which is not participating in the play. A knight roaming the board at will is more useful than a bishop stuck behind its own pawns. So consider position when you are thinking of sacrificing a piece in order toobtain an advantage in another element. You may be giving up more than just the piece’s material value. Some tips on material strategy: If possible, don’t sacrifice another element in winning material. If you are at a material disadvantage, try not to exchange any more pieces. That’s exactly what your opponent wants you to do. Instead, find other ways to attack. And always keep the endgame in mind, working any material advantages towards it. Your game, after all, is only as good as your material!