Fritz 21 Handbook

Pawn units

A pawn unit serves a chess engine as a unit of measure for assessing and evaluating a position.

Example

There is a rule of thumb according to which the exchange value of pieces is defined in pawn units:

• Queen = 9 pawn units

• Rook = 5 pawn units

• Bishop = 3 pawn units

• Knight = 3 pawn units

• Pawn = 1 pawn unit

This system only serves as a rough orientation. Positional criteria also enter into a chess engine's evaluation and, depending on the situation, are given as fractions of a pawn unit or significantly higher values.

See engine window ....