Chess piece values
A pawn counts as 1 point, a knight and a bishop 3 each, a rook 5 and the queen 9. The king has no point value because it can never be traded: losing it ends the game.
In short: This scoring is a tool for counting exchanges during a game, not a rule of chess. You will not find it in the FIDE laws. It works well for simple trades and misleads whenever a position is decided by piece activity, king safety or a passed pawn.
| Piece | Value | At the start | Practical note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pawn | 1 | 8 | Promotes to a queen on the last rank, so in an endgame it can be worth far more. |
| Knight | 3 | 2 | Strongest in closed positions, where it jumps over blocked pawns. |
| Bishop | 3 | 2 | Formally equal to a knight, but usually stronger once the position opens. |
| Rook | 5 | 2 | Only comes alive on an open file and on the opponent seventh rank. |
| Queen | 9 | 1 | The strongest piece: it combines the rook and bishop moves. |
| King | no value | 1 | Never traded. In the endgame it becomes an active attacking piece. |
Where these numbers come from
The scoring approximates how many squares a piece controls on average and how easily it joins the game. From the centre of an empty board a queen attacks 27 squares, a rook always 14, a bishop up to 13 and a knight at most 8. Hence the order, although the numbers themselves are rounded so you can add them up in your head at the board.
When the points mislead you
Three situations where counting material gives the wrong answer:
- The bishop pair. Two bishops together are worth noticeably more than a bishop and a knight, even though the table gives 3 points for each piece. In an open position that difference often decides the game.
- Activity beats material. A rook shut in the corner behind its own pawns is in practice weaker than a well-placed knight, despite being two points ahead on paper.
- A passed pawn. A pawn one step from promotion is not worth 1 point but as much as the queen it is about to become.
Counting a trade at the board
Before every capture, count what you give up and what you take. Trading a knight for a rook is a two-point gain and is called winning the exchange. Giving up the queen for a rook and a bishop loses one point, yet can pay off if you get an attack on the king in return. The points are where the decision starts, not where it ends.
Frequently asked questions
How many points is each chess piece worth?
A pawn is 1 point, a knight 3, a bishop 3, a rook 5 and the queen 9. The king has no point value because it can never be traded or captured: losing it ends the game. The scale is a convention and does not appear in the official laws of chess.
What is the weakest piece in chess?
The pawn, worth one point. But it is the only piece that can change its value: on reaching the last rank it usually promotes to a queen and so becomes worth nine points. A pawn one step from promotion is no longer weak at all.
What is the strongest piece in chess?
The queen, worth nine points, because it combines the rook and bishop moves. From a central square on an empty board it controls twenty-seven squares, more than any other piece. The king is left out of this ranking because it is never traded.
Is a bishop better than a knight?
Both are worth 3 points, so formally they are equal. In practice a bishop is usually better in open positions where it has long diagonals, and a knight in closed ones because it jumps over blocked pawns. The bishop pair is worth more than bishop and knight.
You will learn these values in practice by solving chess puzzles.
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