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Sac Chess. Game with 60 pieces. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Whelan wrote on Wed, Dec 16, 2015 11:39 PM UTC:
>  You're doing your math wrong. A Queen at 9 points is worth more than 
>  a Rook (5 points) + a Bishop (3.25 points).

There's nothing wrong with my math.  If firepower were the only issue, Rooks and Bishops would be worth the same (5).  A Bishop is worth less because of its limitations.  A Queen is worth more than Rook and Bishop because it gains the Bishop's firepower without suffering from its limitations.

Imagine a piece that had the power to move like a Rook and, in addition, the power to move diagonally but ONLY along black diagonals.  This piece would come closer to combining the powers of a Rook and (black-square) Bishop.  And its value would be less than the combined value of those two pieces. 

A Queen does not really combine the power of one Rook and one Bishop.  It might be closer to the truth to say it combines the powers of a Rook and both Bishops.