ChessMessChess piece values: how many points each piece is worth
Pawn 1, knight 3, bishop 3, rook 5, queen 9. What each chess piece is worth, when the numbers bend, what research found, and a free material calculator.
Counted in pawns, the chess pieces are worth: pawn 1, knight 3, bishop 3, rook 5, queen 9. The king has no number, because it can never be traded. Each side starts with 39 points of material. Use the numbers to judge a trade before you make it: give less than you get.
Material calculator
The standard values
| Piece | Points | Why it's worth that |
|---|---|---|
| Pawn | 1 | The unit everything else is measured in. It's worth more the closer it gets to promoting. |
| Knight | 3 | Jumps over other pieces. Best in closed positions and on a protected central square. |
| Bishop | 3 | Sweeps long diagonals, but only on one colour. Best in open positions. |
| Rook | 5 | Controls whole files and ranks, and gets stronger as the board empties. |
| Queen | 9 | Moves like a rook and a bishop together. |
| King | none | Can't be traded. In the endgame it becomes a strong fighting piece. |
These 1–3–3–5–9 values are the common rule of thumb. Claude Shannon used them in his 1949 paper on programming a computer to play chess, and most coaches still teach them.
Common trades, counted
- A minor piece for three pawns: 3 against 3 on paper. In practice the piece is usually a little better while other pieces are on the board; Larry Kaufman's study of games between players rated 2300 and above put a minor piece at about 3¼ pawns.
- The exchange (a rook for a bishop or knight): 5 against 3, so winning it gains about 2 points. Kaufman measured its average value at 1¾ pawns.
- Two minor pieces for a rook: 6 against 5. The two pieces are a point ahead on paper.
- A queen for two rooks: 9 against 10. The rooks are slightly ahead on paper.
- A queen for a rook and a minor piece: 9 against 8. Kaufman found that, when the other side doesn't have the bishop pair, the queen is worth a rook, a minor piece and 1½ pawns, so the queen side is usually better.
When the numbers bend
- The bishop pair. Two bishops work well together because they cover both colours. Kaufman measured the pair at about half a pawn more than two single bishops.
- Bishop or knight? On average, a single bishop and a knight are worth the same. Open positions with pawns on both sides favour the bishop; closed positions with locked pawns favour the knight.
- Activity beats arithmetic. A knight on a strong square can be better than a rook that has nothing to do, and a bishop blocked by its own pawns is worth less than 3.
- King safety comes first. No amount of material helps if you get checkmated. Look at checks, captures and threats before counting points: see how to stop blundering.
- Passed pawns. A pawn one step from promoting can be worth far more than 1, because it's about to become a queen.
What research found
Stronger players and engines refine the simple numbers. Two well-known studies, both with pawn = 1:
| Source | Knight | Bishop | Rook | Queen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard values | 3 | 3 | 5 | 9 | The rule of thumb; Claude Shannon used them in 1949 |
| Larry Kaufman, Chess Life, March 1999 | 3¼ | 3¼ | 5 | 9¾ | From games between players rated 2300+, grouped by material imbalance; bishop pair +½ |
| AlphaZero self-play, DeepMind, 2020 | 3.05 | 3.33 | 5.63 | 9.5 | Estimated from 10,000 games AlphaZero played against itself |
All three agree on the order: pawn, then knight and bishop at about the same value, then rook, then queen. For practical play, 1–3–3–5–9 plus half a pawn for the bishop pair is enough.
Engines show their evaluation in the same unit. On the analysis board, +1.5 means White is better by about a pawn and a half, counting the position as well as the material.
Practise counting
- The interactive piece values lesson teaches counting with quizzes and positions to play out.
- Rated puzzles train you to spot pieces you can win and pieces left undefended.
- Play with Coach: the coach points out when a move gives away material, and explains why.
Sources
- Larry Kaufman, The Evaluation of Material Imbalances, first published in Chess Life, March 1999 (reprinted by Dan Heisman with permission).
- Nenad Tomašev, Ulrich Paquet, Demis Hassabis and Vladimir Kramnik, Assessing Game Balance with AlphaZero, 2020, section 3.8 and table 6.
- Chess Programming Wiki, Point Value, for Claude Shannon's 1949 values.
Questions and answers
- How many points is a queen worth in chess?
- 9 in the standard count. Larry Kaufman's study of games between strong players put her at 9¾, and DeepMind's AlphaZero study at 9.5, both with a pawn worth 1.
- Is a bishop worth more than a knight?
- On average they're equal, about 3 points each. A bishop is usually better in open positions and a knight in closed ones, and having both bishops is worth about half a pawn extra.
- How many points is a rook worth?
- 5 points. Winning a rook for a bishop or knight is called winning the exchange, worth about 2 points on the standard count.
- How much material does each side start with?
- 39 points: eight pawns (8), two knights (6), two bishops (6), two rooks (10) and a queen (9). The king isn't counted.
- Does the king have a point value?
- No. The king can never be captured or traded, so it isn't counted. In the endgame it becomes an active piece that attacks pawns and supports its own.
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