Opposite Bishops on the Edge: The Stalemate Draw

Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.

Push the passed pawns to the edge and the opposite-bishop defense changes character. There is no comfortable blockade here: with the king in the corner, one move holds the position and one resource finishes it.

Only Bf8. Every other bishop move loses, and so does Kg8. From f8 the bishop covers g7, so the g-pawn cannot advance, and it attacks h6, so White cannot untangle the pair.

The bishop is not sacred. The standard drawing resource in opposite-bishop endings is to give the bishop for a pawn when the rest cannot be held. On the edge it does something better: after White commits his bishop with Bc4, Bxh6 draws immediately, because Kxh6 leaves the black king with no legal move at all. The white king takes g7 and h7, White's own bishop takes g8, and it is stalemate.

The lesson. Count the defender's king moves before you assume a corner is dangerous. On the h-file it is often the attacker who runs out of squares.

In this drill the opponent never gives up a half point. Find Bf8 and keep the bishop-for-a-pawn trade in your pocket.