Answers.Body: <p>The answer is, as expected, &quot;it depends&quot;. To answer directly first, 2016 Atomic World Championship (AWC) winner, tipau, <a href="https://lichess.org/forum/team-atomic-chess-theoreticians/value-of-pieces-in-atomic-chess" rel="noreferrer">put the values as</a>:</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>Pawn - 1
  Knight - 1.5
  Bishop - 1.5
  Rook - 3
  Queen - 6</p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>As a <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Illion" rel="noreferrer">somewhat strong player myself</a> (two top-8 finishes in the AWC) who has extensively analysed atomic chess endgames, I would tend to agree.</p>
  <p>The king has no value, but outside of stopping passed pawns in endgames and a few other special zugzwang compositions, it is almost useless.</p>
  <hr />
  <p>Now to go deeper into the topic, do note that the <strong>piece values change during the game</strong>. General experience would give the following points to support the piece values:</p>
  <ul>
  <li>In an endgame, a minor piece is only slightly more than a pawn; if one side has <em>N</em> pawns + 1 minor piece while the other side has <em>N+1</em> pawns, the side with the minor piece has a slight advantage (which may not be enough to win, depending on the position).</li>
  <li>In the middlegame, a minor piece is worth more than a pawn, but usually less than two pawns.</li>
  <li>A rook is generally worth more than a minor piece, especially when there are more open files for invasion. A minor piece + pawn can compensate for a rook in the endgame though, generally forcing the side with the rook to take a draw by perpetual check.</li>
  <li>Knights are generally better than bishops in the very early opening and endgame, but not in the middlegame.</li>
  <li>The bishop pair is much stronger than the knight pair or a knight + bishop.</li>
  <li>The queen's value is hard to pin down. Depending on the position, she can be worth less than B+N, or more than R+B+N+P, as seen in several common opening lines. It largely depends on the solidity of both sides' positions.</li>
  <li>Factors like piece activity, pawn structure, passed pawns and other non-material considerations also matter in any given position.</li>
  </ul>
  <p>I would therefore recommend using the following rules of thumb instead of exact point values:</p>
  <ul>
  <li>B ~ N (depends)</li>
  <li>N/B slightly &gt; P</li>
  <li>B+B &gt; 2 minors</li>
  <li>R &gt; N/B</li>
  <li>R ~ N/B + P</li>
  <li>R &gt; P+P</li>
  <li>R &lt; B+N</li>
  <li>Q somewhere between B+N and R+B+N+P</li>
  </ul>
  
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Body: <p>In regular chess a queen is worth 9, rook 5, knight 3, etc. What is the equivalent heuristic in atomic chess?</p>
  
Tags: <point-value><atomic-chess>
Title: What is the piece value heuristic in atomic chess?
ThreadText: # What is the piece value heuristic in atomic chess?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2020-07-08)
  
  In regular chess a queen is worth 9, rook 5, knight 3, etc. What is the equivalent heuristic in atomic chess?
  
  **Tags:** point-value, atomic-chess
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2020-07-09. Score: 10 | Accepted answer
  
  The answer is, as expected, "it depends". To answer directly first, 2016 Atomic World Championship (AWC) winner, tipau, [put the values as](https://lichess.org/forum/team-atomic-chess-theoreticians/value-of-pieces-in-atomic-chess):
  
  > Pawn - 1
  > Knight - 1.5
  > Bishop - 1.5
  > Rook - 3
  > Queen - 6
  
  As a [somewhat strong player myself](https://lichess.org/@/Illion) (two top-8 finishes in the AWC) who has extensively analysed atomic chess endgames, I would tend to agree.
  
  The king has no value, but outside of stopping passed pawns in endgames and a few other special zugzwang compositions, it is almost useless.
  
  ---
  
  Now to go deeper into the topic, do note that the **piece values change during the game**. General experience would give the following points to support the piece values:
  
  * In an endgame, a minor piece is only slightly more than a pawn; if one side has *N* pawns + 1 minor piece while the other side has *N+1* pawns, the side with the minor piece has a slight advantage (which may not be enough to win, depending on the position).
  * In the middlegame, a minor piece is worth more than a pawn, but usually less than two pawns.
  * A rook is generally worth more than a minor piece, especially when there are more open files for invasion. A minor piece + pawn can compensate for a rook in the endgame though, generally forcing the side with the rook to take a draw by perpetual check.
  * Knights are generally better than bishops in the very early opening and endgame, but not in the middlegame.
  * The bishop pair is much stronger than the knight pair or a knight + bishop.
  * The queen's value is hard to pin down. Depending on the position, she can be worth less than B+N, or more than R+B+N+P, as seen in several common opening lines. It largely depends on the solidity of both sides' positions.
  * Factors like piece activity, pawn structure, passed pawns and other non-material considerations also matter in any given position.
  
  I would therefore recommend using the following rules of thumb instead of exact point values:
  
  * B ~ N (depends)
  * N/B slightly > P
  * B+B > 2 minors
  * R > N/B
  * R ~ N/B + P
  * R > P+P
  * R < B+N
  * Q somewhere between B+N and R+B+N+P
  
  
  ---
  
  