Bishop (chess)
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A bishop (♗) is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player starts the game with two bishops. At the start of a game, one bishop is placed in between the knight and the queen. This piece is the queen's bishop. The other bishop is placed between the knight and the king. This piece is the king's bishop. The bishops are also referred to as the light-square bishop and dark-square bishop, depending on the square color it starts on. In chess notation, the starting squares are c1 and f1 for White's bishops, and c8 and f8 for Black's bishops.
History
The bishop first appeared in medieval European chess. In Chaturanga, the bishop was represented as an armed attendant who sat on the back of an elephant. The Arabs called this figure "al-fil", which means "elephant". However, elephants were not known in Central Europe, so they could not recognize the figure. The bishops were interpreted differently by the different nations. That is why the bishop is a "Läufer" (runner) in Germany, a "fou" (fool) in France and a "alfiere" (standard-bearer) in Italy.
How the bishop moves
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The bishop moves diagonally. It can move as far as a player wants it to, unless another piece blocks its path. A bishop can never leave the color of square that it starts on.
In the centre of an empty board, a bishop can move to 13 squares.
Use in a game
A bishop is a long-range piece. It can attack from one side of the board to the other if its diagonal is open. A bishop captures the same way that it moves: it moves diagonally onto the square of an opponent's piece. It cannot jump over another piece.[1]
Because a bishop always stays on the same colour of square, one bishop controls only light squares or only dark squares. For this reason, the two bishops work well together. One bishop controls light squares and the other controls dark squares. This is often called the bishop pair.[2]
A bishop is often given a value of about three pawns, about the same as a knight. The value can change with the position. Bishops are usually better when the position is open, because they have clear diagonals. They are usually weaker when many pawns block their diagonals.[2]
References
- ↑ "FIDE Laws of Chess taking effect from 1 January 2023". FIDE. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
- 1 2 R, Sam (27 May 2026). "Chess Pieces Names, Moves & Values (Complete Guide)". Debsie. Retrieved 10 June 2026.