Good bishop vs bad bishop

Chess

Judge bishops by the pawns around them.

What coaches agree on

  • Judge a bishop by its pawns: it's good when its own pawns are off its color, keeping it mobile with targets on the enemy pawns, and bad when the reverse is true.
  • You can change a bishop's fate with pawn pushes: fix the opponent's pawns onto their own bishop's color to trap it, or shift your pawns off your bishop's color to set it free.
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  • When your bishop is the better one, trade off the other pieces rather than the bishops themselves so your opponent is left relying on their bad bishop alone, and hang onto your good bishop instead of swapping it for 'equal' material.
GOOD & BAD BISHOPS
Beginner

GOOD & BAD BISHOPS

Coach's take: Doesn't stop at definitions, actually tells you how to fix a bad bishop. Recommend.

3.7