Step 9: Advanced Track · about 30 min
Bishops vs. Knights
Goal: Kids know when bishops or knights are better, what a 'bad' bishop is, and how to use an outpost.
You need: Demo board · One board and set per pair
1 · Teach it (20 min)
Read these out loud, or put them in your own words. Show each board on screen or set it up on a demo board.
1.“Bishops and knights are both worth about 3 points, but they're good at different things. Bishops love open positions with long diagonals and pawns on both sides of the board.”
2.“Knights love closed positions, where pawns are locked together and long lines are blocked. A knight can jump over the traffic jam.”
3.“Look at Black's bishop on c8. Black's pawns are on light squares: d5, e6, f5 and c6. The light-squared bishop is stuck behind them. That's called a bad bishop. The dark-squared bishop on e7 is the good one.”
4.“Knights need outposts: a square in the enemy half where no enemy pawn can chase them away. Here d5 is perfect. Black has no c-pawn, and the e-pawn has already gone past. A knight on d5 can never be kicked out by a pawn.”
5.“So: keep bishops if the position is opening up. Keep knights, and find them outposts, if it's closed. And put your pawns on the opposite color from your own bishop.”
- Trading a good bishop for a knight in an open position.
- Putting all your pawns on the same color as your bishop.
- Putting a knight on a square a pawn can attack next move.
2 · Play it: Minor Piece Battle (10 min)
Set up: In pairs. Each side: king, five pawns, and ONE minor piece. White gets a bishop, Black a knight.
- Set up the pawns on both wings for an open game. Play it out.
- Then set it up with locked pawns in the middle and play again.
- Swap colors. Which piece did better in which position?
3 · Practice and pass check
On iPads, kids open Student → Step 9 → Bishop or Knight?. On paper, print the worksheet. A kid passes by getting 2 of 3 on the pass check. The pass code for this lesson is S9-L2-QN.
Practice (3) with answers
1.The center is locked. Which minor piece is better here?
- ✓White's knight
- Black's bishop on c8
2.Your knight is attacked. Put it on the best square: an outpost. Draw an arrow or write the move.
Move: Nd5
3.Bishops are usually happiest when the position is…
- ✓open, with long diagonals
- closed, with locked pawns
Pass check (3) with answers
1.Circle Black's bad bishop.
Answer: c8
2.What is an outpost?
- ✓A square no enemy pawn can attack, where your piece is safe
- Any square in the center
- The square in front of your king
3.Your bishop is light-squared. Where should most of your pawns go?
- ✓On dark squares
- On light squares
Topic order based on: How to Reassess Your Chess, Parts 4–5 (bishops and knights). All wording is original.