Trading Pieces: When and Why

The conversion rule Bishop Boris fears most:

• AHEAD in material → trade PIECES (not pawns). Every trade makes your extra piece a bigger share of the remaining army. Up a knight with queens on = complicated; up a knight in a pawn endgame = trivially winning.

• BEHIND in material → trade PAWNS (not pieces). Fewer pawns means fewer promotion threats — and no pawns at all is often a draw even a piece down.

Every trade offer in every game gets tested against this rule.