M Winther wrote on Thu, Apr 27, 2006 07:52 AM UTC:
Reinhard, the Mammoth *jumps* two squares. This significantly increases its
strength and makes it such an interesting and valuable piece on the big
board.
The problem of knight and bishop also has to do with the fact that their
values are so flexible. A centrally positioned knight in the middlegame,
on a square which cannot be threathened by a pawn, acquires the value of a
rook. In the endgame, when pawns are located only at one wing, the knight
is often more valuable than the bishop, sometimes winning the game,
despite equal material. However, the cooperation of two bishops can
increase the value of a bishop considerably.
The derivation of piece value seems to be a complicated science. If we use
Taylor's notion that the value of a chess piece is proportional to its
ability to safely check an enemy king on another otherwise vacant board,
then the Mammoth is less valuable than a rook, since the rook can give
check from many more squares. It seems that this piece has great strengths
and great weaknesses.
Mats