Pieces are worth roughly pawn 1, knight 3, bishop 3, rook 5, queen 9. Counting before every capture tells you whether a trade wins, loses or keeps material level.
Key principles
- Count attackers and defenders before capturing
- Trade when you are ahead in material
- The king has no point value: it cannot be traded
Common mistakes
- Capturing a defended piece with a more valuable one
- Ignoring a recapture when counting