Which piece is the best: Knight or bishop?

In a wide open endgameishops would out play the knight

But in a locked position the knight is generally better

Im with sniperghost360 its depends on the game, but in my words i think both of them are great.

 1.in an open game the bishop can move easily and control more squares

2. in closed game the fork ability of the knight is a plus

3. if you have a bad bishop , so the knight is superior

generally i prefer the bishop, it is almost like a rook

Amr

The Knight's are usually stronger in the opening. But in the middle and endgame, bishops are more useful 60% of the time. Also, a bad bishop is worse than the a knight, but two bishops win against two knights or a knight + a bishop. Don't trade of your bishop pair without getting decent compensation (like in the exchange variation of the ruy lopez and french defense) In general, knights are better in closed positions while in an open endgame the bishop is more useful. Most grandmaster tend to favor the bishop, for example Fisher who gave the bishop 3.25 points and the knight 3.00 points. There are exceptions to this. Like Miguel Najdorf who favored the knight.

In the opening I prefer knights. In the middlegame I like bishops, since I just generally prefer open games. And in the endgame they both have their abbilities. The knights have great forking power, whereas the bishops can pin and skewer, which the knights can't do. That said, I overall prefer the bishop.

Bishops, of course, are more long ranged, being able to influence many squares at once. However, I prefer knights simply because they can only influence one square color, while knights can hop to either color. Granted, knights are short ranged, but their jump and forking abilities make them particularily nasty pieces.

It depends on many things.  A bad bishop (a bishop on the same colour as your pawns) is worse than a knight unless you get it outside your pawn structure.  knights do best in the center and on the 3rd or 6th rank.  bishops are generally worse in closed positions.  bishops of opposite colours almost always end in a draw.  bishops are best on open ranks.  these are just general guide lines, and there are always exceptions.  Personally, I like to be sneaky with knights, but generally bishops are better(theoretically).

For an example of a knight outperforming a bishop, check out the game here:

 http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/the-better-minor-piece

Chiaro2di2luna wrote: bishops of opposite colours almost always end in a draw.

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 This is only true if the bishops are the last remaining pieces on the board. This is not true of bishops of opposite colors in the middle game. In the middle game, the attacking bishop  has an advantage because the defending bishop can't cover the attacked squares. Even one pair of rooks is often enough to change an otherwise drawn bishops of oppisite colors ending into a game with winning chances for the attacking side.

For example, see the Rook and Bishop ending shown here:

http://thebackrank.blogspot.com/2007/09/swindle-and-another-booc-ending.html 

Very true, i was talking mostly in the end game, my point was if you are down a pawn or two try to trade off so it ends up being bishop of opposite colours end game, you could probably draw then.

I've always learned that the pieces relative value, is 3 for both bishop and knight, but some books, ex. The Chess Bible gives the bishop 3 1/4 and says its a bit stronger than the knight in most games. For many players the knight is difficult to handle, both attack and defence, good players handle it well.

Also; with queens on the board the knight is better than the bishop, says Magnus Carlsens father in a blog after Magnus' winning against Mamedyarov this weekend.

Of course, it all depends on the game and how you use your pieces together.

I've also heard bishop is 3 1/3, but i've also heard what loftus said.

Gaby wrote:

Please leave your opinion here :) thanks

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I always laugh at these ridiculous questions. It's like asking: Which is better, strength or speed? Well, if you're a powerlifter, then strength. If you're a sprinter, then speed.

 

And, as someone else mentioned, much depends on the skill of the player. Anyone who is overly concerned with which piece is "better" would be better off (no pun intended) trying to improve his/her technique.

I'd say it does depend on the position (closed - usually knight, open - usually bishop), but I prefer bishops because they are better in the endgame most of the time, except that knights can block passed pawns better.

i think a bishop is better at the end and a knight at the start because  a knight can jump over things when there is more pieces it can move easily but can get stuck somewhere

 

Joe, that was rediculous. Both sides made horrible moves.

1...Kxb5??  is blunder  black will not play that move black will play  1...Qh1+ Bf1  2.Qxh2!

Ridiculous. After 1.Bxb5 just about any queen check wins. For exampe, 1...Qc3+ 2.Kd1 Kxb5 +-. A queen almost always beats a bishop and knight, although there are a few sneaky fortresses a good endgame player may fall back on.

i dont think so, i think black would play Qc3+ Kd1 Kxb5

> why didn't black take the queen right when it turned into a queen form thepassedpawn?

 

Because the example is silly.