Knight vs Pawns: Mating the King in the Corner
White to play and win
PlayA knight alone cannot mate a bare king, but this king is stuck in the corner, and his own pawns can block his last squares. The rule: take away the king's free squares, and let his pawns fill the rest.
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A Lone Knight Mates in the Corner
White to play and win · Win against perfect defense
Waking the engine…
The theory
Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.
Count the black king's free squares. Your king guards g1 and g2, so only h2 is left. Keep your king where it is: Ke2 lets Black out with Kg2, and his h-pawn even wins the game.
King and knight against a bare king is a dead draw. Give the defender two pawns and the verdict can flip, because his own pawns block the flight squares his king needs.
The knight goes to g4. Nf6 first, then Ng4 with check. From g4 the knight covers h2 and f2 and the king in the corner has nothing.
The king closes the cage. Kf1 takes g1 and g2. Now the black king is completely immobile, and Black is left shuffling pawns into the net.
The mate. After Kf2 h2 Ne3 g4 Nf1 g3+ Nxg3 is mate. The pawn on h2 is Black's own, and it is exactly the square his king needed. That is the whole idea: material can be a liability.
Careful with the king. Ke1, Ke2, Ke3 and Kf3 all lose here. Losing while a piece up is what makes this position worth drilling.
Keep going
The King Locked in Front of Its Pawn
Black to play and draw
The Knight Catches the Runner
White to play and draw
Offer the Knight in the Corner
White to play and draw
All 21 knight endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)