To play chess well, it is crucial to have a deep understanding of the relative values of the pawns and pieces. Without such understanding, it is impossible to formulate appropriate plans, to evaluate positions accurately, or to decide which pieces should be kept and which pieces should be exchanged.
The relative values of the pieces depend on many factors, including their locations, the pawn structure, king safety, and what other pieces remain on the board. For example, bishops tend to be better than knights in open positions, and knights tend to be better than bishops in closed positions. Also, knights work well with the queen in attack. When attacking with an isolated pawn, knights tend to be very valuable, especially when they can occupy forward outposts created by the isolated pawn; hence, when playing against an isolated pawn, it is usually a good idea to exchange one pair of knights. In some cases, a well placed knight can be more valuable than a rook. The relative values of the pieces can change during the game. For example, in the opening, center pawns are more valuable than flank pawns, but in the ending, rook pawns are much more valuable than center pawns.
In today's lesson, we will examine several positions in which one side has a knight on the sixth (or third) rank. Usually, such an advanced knight is very strong, especially when it can combine attacking forces with a queen. Position 4, however, shows a situation in which the forward knight is bad.
28 Ne4 Qd1
29 Nf6+ Kg7
30 g5 Rc8
31 Re3 Qf3
32 Kf3 h6
33 h4 hg
34 hg a6
35 Re7 Rb8
36 Ra7 b5
37 Ra6 ba
38 ba Re8
39 a5 Kf8
40 Re6 Ra8
41 ab 1-0
41 ... Qe6
42 Qg1 Qc3
43 a4 g4
44 hg+ Kg5
45 h3 0-1
41 ... h5
42 Nc4+ Kd5
43 Ne3+ Ke4
44 a4 Kd3
45 Nd5 Ke2
46 Nf4+ Kf2
47 Nh3 Kf1
48 Nf4 g3
49 Ng2 Kf2
50 a5 h4
51 Nf4 Kf1
52 Ng2 h3
53 Ne3+ Kf2
54 Ng4 Ke2
0-1
33 Rf2 Kf6
34 Kg3 h5
35 Kh4 Ne3
36 d5 Nf5+
37 Kh5 a6
38 Rb2 Ne3
39 Rf2+ Nf5
40 Rb2 b5
41 ab ab
0-1
38 Nh4 Kg8
39 Qe6+ Kh7
40 Qf5+ Kg8
41 Ng6 1-0