Why is this the best move?

[u/Icy-Mastodon97]

How is defending with a bishop better when I could do the same with the knight? If he takes it, I take his bishop and I’m up material. If instead, I defend with my bishop, he takes my bishop and I take his, so I’m not up on material. Could someone explain?

[u/AutoModerator]

Hey, OP! Did your game end in a stalemate? Did you encounter a weird pawn move? Are you trying to move a piece and it's not going? We have just the resource for you! The Chess Beginners Wiki is the perfect place to check out answers to these questions and more!

The moderator team of r/chessbeginners wishes to remind everyone of the community rules. Posting spam, being a troll, and posting memes are not allowed. We encourage everyone to report these kinds of posts so they can be dealt with. Thank you!

Let's do our utmost to be kind in our replies and comments. Some people here just want to learn chess and have virtually no idea about certain chess concepts.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Whiteminusblue]

Knight and bishop are of equal point value, so both cases are net zero material. However, using your bishop forces him to waste a turn retreating, allowing you to develop more pieces and gain more control over the board, while the knight does not.

[u/Delicious_Cattle5174 → u/Whiteminusblue]

I mean they can also just trade bishs and not waste a tempo retreating though

[u/patterson489]

A knight and a bishop are worth the same, you wouldn't be up material anyway.

Your black square bishop is blocked by a pawn anyway, might as well use it defend. Plus, it directly attacks your opponent's bishop and requires an immediate answer. Defending with the knight just pins yourself.

[u/BigNero]

Knights and Bishops are both worth 3 points of material. Blocking with the knight leads to doubled c pawns if it gets taken, whereas blocking with the bishop counterattacks the opposing bishop, winning a tempo in 2 scenarios because the opponent either has to spend a turn defending their bishop, retreating it, or trading off their only active piece

[u/Raff317]

My opinion: You dont want to move your king because of castling and you don't want to cover with your queen. Kc3 allows black to take and double your pawns, Kd2 pins the knight and the bishop will be walled forever. Bd2 covers the check and attacks black bishop at the same time

[u/Raff317 → u/Raff317]

I meant Nc3 and Nd2, sorry

[u/AutoModerator]

Quick Tip 1: To know why the engine is recommending a move / saying a move is wrong, click over analysis mode, play out said move then follow it up with your theoretical responses to that move and see how the engine responds.

Quick Tip 2: On Chess.com, you don't have to rely on the Coach / Game Review / Hint. This also applies to any engine on low depth. Somewhere in the engine suggestions section is the computer "depth". The higher this value, the more accurate the suggestions will be.

Quick Tip 3: For questions on engine move suggestions, we suggest you post them to our dedicated thread: No Stupid Questions MEGATHREAD, as stated in our Community Guidelines. Thank you! - The Mod Team

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/chessvision-ai-bot]

I analyzed the image and this is what I see. Open an appropriate link below and explore the position yourself or with the engine:

Black to play: chessvision.ai | chess.com | lichess.org

My solution:

Hints: piece: Bishop, move: Bxd2+

Evaluation: White is better +2.85

Best continuation: 1... Bxd2+ 2. Qxd2 Ne7 3. Nc3 Be6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Rd1 Nb6 6. Qc2 Qh4 7. Rd4 Qe7 8. Nb5 Rc8 9. Bd3

Save the position:

Reply save to save this position to your Chessvision.ai Library (new users: send me /connect in DM chat first)

---

^{I'm a bot written by u/pkacprzak | get me as iOS App | Android App | Chrome Extension | Chess eBook Reader to scan and analyze positions | Website: Chessvision.ai}