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Ideal Values and Practical Values (part 3). More on the value of Chess pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Lawson wrote on Fri, Jul 18, 2003 02:13 AM UTC:

Mike Nelson wrote,
'I feel that WcR will be perceptibly stronger than WmR but I could be
wrong.'

I think there is more going on here than just mobility when we compare a
WcR and a WmR.  My opinion is that tempo matters significantly.  A WcR
cannot move quickly, but its long-range threats are immediate, for it
captures at distance.  A WmR threatens only at short range, and must take
the time to move to make an immediate threat.  

Furthermore, in the endgame, a WcR can interdict the King across the
board, a WmR cannot.  

Therefore, if given the choice between the two, I will choose a WcR.  I
would happily trade a WmR for a minor piece, but I would think long and
hard about losing a WcR for a minor piece.

Although I have only discussed the specifics of these two pieces, the
concepts (king interdiction, threats without loss of tempo) are general
considerations, that, like leveling, affect the values of pieces in ways
that would be difficult to calculate.

Some pieces have abilities that are more useful than their calculated
value would imply.  In Omega chess, the Wizard moves as a Ferz or Camel
(WL in Betza notation).  Although they are colorbound, I prefer them to
Bishops and Knights because they can make threats beyond a pawn chain.