How To Make Good Exchanges

How to make good
exchanges
Each of the chess pieces have their own strengths and
weaknesses. That is why the pieces also have different
values.
Since the chessmen will be traded at various moments

in the game it’s important to understand the value of
each piece. Knowing the value will help you make
informed decisions and better understand strategies
for winning.
In this lesson you will learn what is an exchange and I

will also show you how to make good exchanges. But
first, what is an exchange in chess? Here’s an
example:
How to make good
exchanges
White can capture black’s knight, but in
return black will probably capture your
bishop with one of their pawns.
Your white’s bishop can capture the black

knight, but then black will capture your
bishop with one of their pawns.
When you capture one of your opponent’s

pieces and they capture you back, that is
called an EXCHANGE.
How to make good
exchanges
Now here’s why exchanges are important. At the start of a
new game, both players get the same number of pieces and it
will be difficult to checkmate your opponent’s king when
they have so many pieces that can defend him.
You must first capture as many as possible of your

opponent’s pieces because the fewer defenders they have
left, the easier it will be to checkmate their king.
But the problem is, if your opponent is a good chess player,

they won’t allow you to easily capture their pieces. Also, that
is why it will be to your advantage if you know how to make
good exchanges. Let’s look at a few examples.
How to make good
exchanges
If white’s queen captures the pawn, then the black rook will
capture the queen in return. It would be a (very) bad
exchange for white.
In this position you can capture the pawn, but then your
opponent would capture your queen. You should
immediately realise that this would be a bad exchange
because your queen is worth much more than a pawn.
Therefore, in this case it is easy to know that this exchange

would be bad for you and that you shouldn’t do it.
But it is not always so easy to know whether a particular

exchange is good or bad.
How to make good
exchanges
If white’s bishop captures the rook, black will also capture
the bishop in return. Will this be good or bad for white?
White can capture the rook but then black will capture him
back. The question now is should you capture the rook, or
shouldn’t you?
Would it be a good exchange or would it be a bad exchange?
The secret is knowing whether an exchange is good or bad.

The answer is to know the point value of each piece. The
stronger a piece is, the higher its point-value. Let me show
you the point-value of all the pieces.
How to make good
exchanges
Knowing the value of the pieces helps you decide if an exchange
will be good, bad, or equal.
A pawn is the weakest of all the chessmen and he is worth 1 point.
The knight is worth 3 points and the bishop is also worth 3 points.
A rook is worth 5 points.
The queen is the strongest of all the pieces and she is worth 9
points.
The king is the only piece that does not have a point-value because
if your king is in checkmate then you lose the game.
How to make good
exchanges
Should white capture the rook?
Yes! White will get 5 points and lose only 3. That means he
will gain 2 points in the exchange. That is good for white.
If you win more points than you lose, then that would be a
good exchange but if you lose more points than you gain
then that would be a bad exchange.
So here is one of the most important things you must try

do when you play chess – you must try to win as many
points as possible, or in other words, you must try to make
as many good exchanges as possible and you must avoid
bad exchanges.
How to make good
exchanges
This exchange will be very bad for white. They’ll get only 1
point but lose 9!
The queen can capture the pawn but then you will lose your
queen. Now you can see just how bad this exchange would
be because you get only one point but you will lose 9 points.
That means a total loss of 8 points which will be very bad

for you.
Of course, you will occasionally make mistakes – all chess

players make mistakes – but the trick is that you should try
to make as few mistakes as possible, because usually the
player who has made fewer mistakes will win the game in
the end.
How to make good
exchanges
You know now what the difference between a good exchange
and a bad exchange is, but quite often an exchange will be
equal.
When both players get the same amount of points, such an

exchange is called an equal exchange or an even exchange.
Here’s an example:
How to make good
exchanges
Bishop for knight. An equal exchange. White gets 3 points
and so does black.
If you capture the bishop and black captures your knight –

you get 3 points, but your opponent also gets 3 points – so
this would be an equal exchange.
When you can make an equal exchange, you might be

unsure whether you should do the exchange, or not. The
answer is actually quite simple – it doesn’t actually matter
all that much.
At least you are not losing any points and so you are free to
decide whether you want to do it, or not.
How to make good
exchanges
Next, I’ll show you a few examples of how

you can use your knowledge of the point-
values of the pieces to decide whether an
exchange is good, bad or equal.
Here’s the first example. It’s white’s turn.

How to make good
exchanges
Which piece should white capture – the queen, or

the rook?
You can capture black’s rook, or you could

capture the queen. If you capture the queen you
get 9 points and if you capture the rook, you get
only 5 points.
So clearly it would be better to capture the queen

since in that case you win more points.
How to make good
exchanges
Should white capture the knight, or the
rook? the knight!
It’s white’s turn. You could capture the rook,

or you could capture the knight. Which one
would you rather capture?
How to make good
exchanges
Well, you may be thinking – I’d rather capture

the rook because then I get more points, but you
must also realise that if you capture the rook,
black will also capture your bishop.
That means you will get 5 points, but you will

lose 3 points, so you’re winning 2 points in total.
But if you capture the knight, you get the full 3

points. So, in this case you should capture the
knight.
How to make good
exchanges
Black moves their pawn to c2. What should you

now do as white?
Remember that, in the diagram, white’s pawns

are moving up towards the 8th rank, and black’s
pawns are moving down towards the first rank.
Black now moves this pawn one square forward.
Should white’s bishop capture the rook, or the

pawn?
How to make good
exchanges
The pawn! Else the pawn would promote to a queen on the
next move.
If you were white, would you capture the rook, or would

you rather capture the pawn?
Did you notice it would be much better to capture the pawn

because if you capture the rook, then black’s pawn could
promote on the next move and become a queen – and the
queen would be worth 9 points!
The reason why I am showing you this example is to

illustrate that even though it’s very important to think of
the point-value of the pieces, there are sometimes
exceptions, and you should apply your common sense to
help you identify those exceptions
How to make good
exchanges
You know now how you can use the point-values of the
pieces to help you decide whether you should make certain
exchanges, or not. But now I want to show you another
reason why it’s good to know the point-value of the pieces.
And that is – you can use the point-values to determine

which player is leading.
Let me show you what I mean. Take a look at this position:
Who has a better chance to win this game? White or Black?

How to make good
exchanges
The trick is – you don’t have to count all the points – if you can
simply count the differences then you will also know which side is
leading. This is how you do it:
If you compare all the white and black pieces, you will note white
has an extra bishop.
You can easily see that white has a queen and black has a queen –
this means there is no need to count the queen because both sides
have one. The same goes for the rooks, and also for the knights
since both sides have a rook and both sides have a knight.
How to make good
exchanges
Both sides also have 6 pawns. But now you will notice a
difference. White has a bishop, but black doesn’t. You
should be able to see that this bishop is in fact the only
difference as everything else is the same.
This means there is no need to count all the points, you can
simply observe that white has an extra bishop, which means
he leads by 3 points.
So, if you want to see which side is leading, then you can
count all the points, but in most cases, it’s easier to just
count the differences.
How to make good
exchanges
To conclude this lesson, I want to give you important
advice.
If you want to become a good chess player, it is very
important that you not think only about your own moves,
but you must also think about what your opponent can do.
You shouldn’t only look for opportunities to capture their

pieces, but you should also be alert and know where they
can capture you.
Take enough time to think about your next move and to

also think about what your opponent can do, because if you
make your move too quickly, you can easily make a mistake
that could cause you to lose material.
How to make good
exchanges

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How to make good

Since the chessmen will be traded at various moments

In this lesson you will learn what is an exchange and I

Your white’s bishop can capture the black

When you capture one of your opponent’s

You must first capture as many as possible of your

But the problem is, if your opponent is a good chess player,

Therefore, in this case it is easy to know that this exchange

But it is not always so easy to know whether a particular

Would it be a good exchange or would it be a bad exchange?

The secret is knowing whether an exchange is good or bad.

A pawn is the weakest of all the chessmen and he is worth 1 point.

A rook is worth 5 points.

So here is one of the most important things you must try

That means a total loss of 8 points which will be very bad

Of course, you will occasionally make mistakes – all chess

When both players get the same amount of points, such an

If you capture the bishop and black captures your knight –

When you can make an equal exchange, you might be

Next, I’ll show you a few examples of how

Here’s the first example. It’s white’s turn.

Which piece should white capture – the queen, or

You can capture black’s rook, or you could

So clearly it would be better to capture the queen

It’s white’s turn. You could capture the rook,

Well, you may be thinking – I’d rather capture

That means you will get 5 points, but you will

But if you capture the knight, you get the full 3

Black moves their pawn to c2. What should you

Remember that, in the diagram, white’s pawns

Should white’s bishop capture the rook, or the

If you were white, would you capture the rook, or would

Did you notice it would be much better to capture the pawn

The reason why I am showing you this example is to

And that is – you can use the point-values to determine

Let me show you what I mean. Take a look at this position:

Who has a better chance to win this game? White or Black?

You shouldn’t only look for opportunities to capture their

Take enough time to think about your next move and to

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