We were just introduced to the pawn which serves as a basis for measuring piece value. Piece value is simple a way to assign a numerical value to each member of your army. As I walk around the classroom observing my students games, beginners will often exclaim “I’m winning, I have 23 points of material and my opponent only has 20 points of material.” While this serves as an indicator as to who is ahead in material, it by no means establishes a winner. The object of the game is to checkmate your opponent which we’ll discuss later on. Simply put, checkmate occurs when your opponent’s King is under attack and cannot escape. Piece value is used to classify pieces according to their power.
Here’s a breakdown of each piece’s value, using the pawn as the basis for measurement. Make sure to memorize these values because they’ll help you when you have to make decisions regarding exchanging or trading material.
Pawn = 1 pawn
Knight = 3 pawns
Bishop = 3 pawns
Rook = 5 pawns
Queen = 9 pawns
King = Priceless. Why? Because if you lose your King you lose the game!
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