What does "penned in" mean in Chess? Bishops are worth more than knights except when they are penned in.


What is meant by penned in? Does that mean that they are blocked by other pieces?
I believe Brian Towers and user58697 are correct, and the author wrote/meant pen instead of pin. The dictionary tells it's a small enclosure for animals, or an abbreviation for penitentiary, which seems more appropriate. Still, it's the first time I encounter this word in a chess setting, so it's not common and the confusion is understandable. 



While @Bad_Bishop provides the general (and, AFAIK, only common) use of the term pin in chess, I believe the author of your quote meant something along the lines of


  Bishops are worth more than knights except when they are blocked by their own pawns.


(which matches your thoughts on the subject). Ironically, those bishops are often called bad bishops, like the white one in the diagram below:

[FEN "8/5pp1/3bp2p/1p1p4/1P1P4/2B1P2P/5PP1/8 w - - 0 1"]


One could argue that all pieces (including rooks and queens) have the same value when pinned (as in the common use of the word), but this is not entirely true; a pinned piece still prevents the opposing king from moving to certain fields, and a pinned bishop covers more squares than a pinned knight.