Like currency in the real world, piece value helps chess players assess the relative worth of each of their pieces. Just as it’s not a great idea to exchange $100 for a $10 T-shirt, it’s also not usually worth it to trade your queen for a mere pawn in chess! In this post: Chess 101: piece value Value of each chess piece How piece value can be variable Sacrifices Chess 101: piece value In chess, piece value is a system that assigns a numerical value to each piece based on how it moves and attacks. While there are differing schools of thought, here is the method that’s most widely accepted. Piece value provides players with a baseline to quickly estimate the strength of their pieces, especially evaluating combinations of pieces—like a rook and a pawn vs. a bishop and a knight . Piece value can help you determine the relative value of each piece , which is correlated to how many squares a piece can move to or control at any given moment.…