In the following table, all values have been translated so that the Knight has the same value (5.25) in every column:
PIECE STAND SPIEL PROG MAX AVERAGE HANDBUCH ====== ===== ===== ==== ===== ======= ======== Pawn 1.75 1.75 1.59 ? ?.? 1.49 Knight 5.25 5.25 5.25 5.25 5.25 5.25 Bishop 5.25 5.25 5.25 8.53 8.75 5.26 Rook 8.75 7.88 7.95 9.19 14.00 8.52 Queen 15.75 14.88 15.11 17.72 22.75 15.35 King 7.00 6.56 5.25 6.56 Ferz 3 2.63 3.06 Alfil 2 2.63 2.25 Wazir 2.63 3.50 Dabbaba 2.63 3.00 KnightRider 7.88 9.50 Chancellor 14.44 19.25You will notice that several new pieces and new columns have been added to the list.
The "Spielmann" value, 6.5625, is EXACTLY the same as the "Average" value. This could be a coincidence, or it could be a hint that we're on the right track; actually, it's a coincidence. A non-royal King is actually less valuable than a Knight, and the standard advice about its value actually refers to its value in situations where it happens to occupy a good position in the late endgame.Well, no; in 1991, when the above was written, I thought that a non-royal King was worth less than a Knight, but in 1994 I discovered that the King is worth more IF you know the right strategy to take advantage of its strengths!!! A very important lesson!
The Ferz moves and captures one square diagonally, a short-range Bishop.
The Alfil leaps two squares diagonally; that is, an Alfil can go from f1 to d3 even if there is something on e2.
The Standard values for the Ferz and Alfil are taken from Al-Adli; of course, I got it from H.J.R. Murray's A History of Chesss, Oxford Press 1913, page 228:
I adopt as the unit of my scale the value of the RP in the Muslim game, and as the connecting link the value of the Knight, whose move is the same in both games.Al-Adli felt that different Pawns had different values; if you add up the values given in the quote from his book on page 227, you get an average value of 1.4; the values Murray gave for the modern game of chess are reproduced in the "Handbuch" column above.
The Wazir moves or captures one square orthogonally -- that is, up, down, right, or left, like a short-range Rook.
The Dabbaba leaps two squares orthogonally; that is, from e4 it can jump to e2 even if there is something on e3; and from e4 it could go to e2, e6, c4, or g4.
It's supposed to be spelled Dabaaba, but I got it wrong so many times I gave up.You can see that we want them in our collection of measurements in order to complete a set that began with the Ferz and Alfil. In addition, the King's move is just a combination of the moves of the Ferz and of the Wazir.
The SPIEL column gives the values according to Spielmann.
The PROG column gives the values used by chessplaying computer programs.
The MAX column gives the value you get when you plunk the piece down in the center of an empty chessboard.
The AVERAGE column gives the average mobility, which is what you get by putting the piece on every square of an empty board and taking the average.
The HANDBUCH column gives the values from the Handbuch, as copied from Murray.