In blitz, the knight is stronger than the bishop. - Vlastmil Hort
I am using this point value system for classical time controls (at least one hour per player):
- Pawn = 1
- Knight = 3.25
- Bishop = 3.25
- Rook = 5
- Queen = 9.5
- Bishop pair = +0.5
But as we all know, the Knight gets a little bit stronger in Rapid (from 15 minutes to 60 minutes per player), and it perhaps gets even more powerful in Blitz (from 3 minutes to 15 minutes per player). I would like to quantify/evaluate the average strength of the Knight in Rapid and in Blitz.
Therefore my two questions are:
- How many centipawns does the Knight gain in Rapid?
- How many centipawns does the Knight gain in Blitz?
Even though it may not be easy, please try to make estimations as precise as possible.
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@Wes : Well I have at least three sources that confirm that Knights get stronger in Rapid and Blitz.
The first is GM Vlastmil Hort which I previously quoted. He had a peak rating of 2620 Elo and even reached the 1977–78 Candidates Tournament.
The second is this news report from Chess.com about a "death match" which happened only a week ago.
"Before the match, I thought it was easier to play in blitz with the knight, not the bishop," GM Kosintseva said, reflecting the popular notion that knights can be very tricky with minimal time.
The third source is this Chess.com thread, where a National Master said:
It does matter and knights are better in blitz ! Take it from someone who has played more than 50,000 blitz games ! Most titled players I talk about this with agree that knights are better in blitz than bishops.