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The exchange (chess)
In chess, the exchange is the material difference of a rook for a minor piece (i.e. a bishop or knight). Having a rook for a minor piece is generally advantageous, since the rook is usually more valuable. A player who has a rook for a minor piece is said to be up the exchange, and the other player is down the exchange. A player who wins a rook for a minor piece is said to have won the exchange, while the other player has lost the exchange. The opposing captures often happen on consecutive moves, but this is not strictly necessary. Although it is generally detrimental to lose the exchange, one may occasionally find reason to purposely do so; the result is termed an exchange sacrifice.
"The exchange" differs from the more general "exchange" or "an exchange", which refers to the loss and subsequent gain of arbitrary pieces; for example, to "exchange queens" would mean that each side's queen is captured.
The minor exchange is the exchange of a bishop for a knight. This term is rarely used.
The value of the exchange (i.e. the difference between a rook and a minor piece) has been considered for decades. Siegbert Tarrasch put its value as 1½ pawns in the endgame, but not for the opening or the first part of the middlegame. That is widely accepted today, but Jacob Sarratt, Howard Staunton, and José Capablanca felt that the exchange was worth two pawns. Tigran Petrosian thought that one pawn was the right value. Wilhelm Steinitz said that a rook is slightly better than a knight and two pawns but slightly worse than a bishop and two pawns. Cecil Purdy said that the value depends on the total number of pawns on the board. The reason is that when there are many pawns, the rooks will have limited mobility because there will not be open files. The exchange is barely worth 1½ points when there are 14 or more pawns on the board. Only when there are ten or fewer pawns may the exchange be worth 2 points . Purdy gave the value as 1½ points in the opening and increasing to 2 points in the endgame. In the middlegame the value would be closer to 1½ than to 2. Edmar Mednis gave the value as 1½ in the endgame. Max Euwe put the value at 1½ in the middlegame and said that two pawns are more than sufficient compensation for the exchange. Larry Kaufman's computer research puts the value as 1¾ pawns, but only 1¼ pawns if the player with the minor piece has the bishop pair. Hans Berliner puts the difference between a rook and knight as 1.9 pawns and the difference between a rook and a bishop as 1.77 pawns. In practice, one pawn may be sufficient compensation for the loss of the exchange, whereas two pawns almost always is.
In the middlegame, the advantage of the exchange is usually enough to win the game if the side with the rook has one or more pawns. In an endgame without pawns, the advantage of the exchange is normally not enough to win (see pawnless chess endgame). The most common exceptions when there are no pawns are (1) a rook versus a bishop in which the defending king is trapped in a corner of the same color as his bishop, (2) a knight separated from its king that may be cornered and lost, and (3) the king and knight are poorly placed.
In the endgame of a rook and a pawn versus a knight and a pawn, if the pawns are passed the rook is much stronger and should win. If the pawns are not passed, the side with knight has good drawing chances if its pieces are well-placed.
In the endgame of a rook and a pawn versus a bishop and pawn, if the pawns are on the same file, the bishop has good chances to draw if the pawns are blocked and the opposing pawn is on a square the bishop can attack; otherwise the rook usually wins. If the pawns are passed the rook normally wins. If the pawns are not passed and are on adjacent files, it is difficult to assess but the bishop may be able to draw.
In an endgame with more pawns on the board (i.e. a rook and pawns versus a minor piece with the same number of pawns) the rook usually wins. This position is typical. The superior side should remember these things:
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The exchange (chess)
In chess, the exchange is the material difference of a rook for a minor piece (i.e. a bishop or knight). Having a rook for a minor piece is generally advantageous, since the rook is usually more valuable. A player who has a rook for a minor piece is said to be up the exchange, and the other player is down the exchange. A player who wins a rook for a minor piece is said to have won the exchange, while the other player has lost the exchange. The opposing captures often happen on consecutive moves, but this is not strictly necessary. Although it is generally detrimental to lose the exchange, one may occasionally find reason to purposely do so; the result is termed an exchange sacrifice.
"The exchange" differs from the more general "exchange" or "an exchange", which refers to the loss and subsequent gain of arbitrary pieces; for example, to "exchange queens" would mean that each side's queen is captured.
The minor exchange is the exchange of a bishop for a knight. This term is rarely used.
The value of the exchange (i.e. the difference between a rook and a minor piece) has been considered for decades. Siegbert Tarrasch put its value as 1½ pawns in the endgame, but not for the opening or the first part of the middlegame. That is widely accepted today, but Jacob Sarratt, Howard Staunton, and José Capablanca felt that the exchange was worth two pawns. Tigran Petrosian thought that one pawn was the right value. Wilhelm Steinitz said that a rook is slightly better than a knight and two pawns but slightly worse than a bishop and two pawns. Cecil Purdy said that the value depends on the total number of pawns on the board. The reason is that when there are many pawns, the rooks will have limited mobility because there will not be open files. The exchange is barely worth 1½ points when there are 14 or more pawns on the board. Only when there are ten or fewer pawns may the exchange be worth 2 points . Purdy gave the value as 1½ points in the opening and increasing to 2 points in the endgame. In the middlegame the value would be closer to 1½ than to 2. Edmar Mednis gave the value as 1½ in the endgame. Max Euwe put the value at 1½ in the middlegame and said that two pawns are more than sufficient compensation for the exchange. Larry Kaufman's computer research puts the value as 1¾ pawns, but only 1¼ pawns if the player with the minor piece has the bishop pair. Hans Berliner puts the difference between a rook and knight as 1.9 pawns and the difference between a rook and a bishop as 1.77 pawns. In practice, one pawn may be sufficient compensation for the loss of the exchange, whereas two pawns almost always is.
In the middlegame, the advantage of the exchange is usually enough to win the game if the side with the rook has one or more pawns. In an endgame without pawns, the advantage of the exchange is normally not enough to win (see pawnless chess endgame). The most common exceptions when there are no pawns are (1) a rook versus a bishop in which the defending king is trapped in a corner of the same color as his bishop, (2) a knight separated from its king that may be cornered and lost, and (3) the king and knight are poorly placed.
In the endgame of a rook and a pawn versus a knight and a pawn, if the pawns are passed the rook is much stronger and should win. If the pawns are not passed, the side with knight has good drawing chances if its pieces are well-placed.
In the endgame of a rook and a pawn versus a bishop and pawn, if the pawns are on the same file, the bishop has good chances to draw if the pawns are blocked and the opposing pawn is on a square the bishop can attack; otherwise the rook usually wins. If the pawns are passed the rook normally wins. If the pawns are not passed and are on adjacent files, it is difficult to assess but the bishop may be able to draw.
In an endgame with more pawns on the board (i.e. a rook and pawns versus a minor piece with the same number of pawns) the rook usually wins. This position is typical. The superior side should remember these things: