Bring in the Bishop

Robert Ek
Nov 12, 2017
2 min read

OK, so we've talked about Rooks, and the King. Now we will look at how the Bishops move.

In this post we'll cover:

1. How Bishops move.

2. Light vs. Dark Bishops

3. When is a Bishop "Good" or "Bad"

MOVE LIKE A BISHOP

Here is a diagram of two White Bishops perched in the middle of the board.

Bishops are allowed to move as many spaces as the want DIAGONALLY. However, because they move diagonally, they live with an important handicap, they only every visit HALF of the board. This is what gives our Bishops their names; one is the Light Bishop and the other the Dark Bishop.

Our light squared bishop on d5 will never set foot on a dark square, and the dark squared Bishop on e5 can never visit a light square. So, while they can be effective, they do have their limits. It is important to remember this if your King is dealing with one Bishop on its own. As long as the King stays on the opposite color square, that Bishop cannot touch the King.

GOOD BISHOP, BAD BISHOP, AND THE UGLY BISHOP

In addition to dark and light Bishops, we have "Good" and "Bad" Bishops.

What makes a Good Bishop good? And how can a Bad Bishop go so wrong? First, its not the Bad Bishop's fault. A Bad Bishop is a Bishop that is stuck on a crowded color and cannot move freely around the board. A Good Bishop is on a color that is mostly vacant, allowing it to dart up and back through the ranks at will. We will look at this example below to show what we are talking about:

Both sides have the Kings safely stashed away and have been working on developing their pieces. But, look at all the pawns on the light squares! This is a serious traffic jam. Both Black and White's light squared Bishops are going to have a hard time navigating through this mess. The Dark Squared Bishops will have a much easier time getting around.

Because the Light Bishop is stuck behind all these pawns, we call that the Bad Bishop. The Dark Bishop is the Good Bishop, at least in this game. If all things are equal, both sides would gladly trade off a Bad Bishop in exchange for the other side's Knight or, better yet, a Good Bishop.

RECAP

Now we have covered the Bishop. We know:

1. How Bishops Move

2. That there is a light and dark bishop

3. Bishops can be "good" or "bad" depending on how crowded the board may be

In our next post we will get to know the most powerful piece in our army, the Queen.