Bishop and Rook Pawn: Winning by Cutting the King Off

White to play and win

Play

Same wrong bishop, same rook pawn, but now the king is on d2 instead of c2, and this time it wins. The bishop does the cutting off: it takes away g8, and the black king never reaches the drawing corner.

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Cutting the King Off With the Bishop

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.

h8 is dark and your bishop is light-squared, so if the black king reaches the corner, it is a dead draw. He is on f8, and g8 is his only way in.

The wrong bishop and rook pawn is only a draw when the defending king reaches the corner. Keep him out and the ending is a normal win.

The bishop does the work. Bh7 covers g8, the only entrance to h8. That single move fences the enemy king out. It is the standard cutoff maneuver, and here it is the only move that wins.

Then the king pays for it. The bishop is buried behind its own pawn, and the h6 pawn is on a square the light bishop can never defend, so the king must march over: Ke3, Kf4, covering g5 and freeing the bishop.

It is a race. With the king one square further away this exact plan is only a draw.

The cutoff depends on the king. Where the bishop slams the door changes with the enemy king. Against a king on f8, Bh7 covers g8. Against a king on f6, the bishop swings to h5 and then e8 instead, and the king never gets back in front of the pawn. And if the bishop already stands on f5, one move, Be6, does the whole job.

In this drill the engine sprints for the corner. Slam the door with the bishop, then bring the king.

Keep going

The Bishop Buried on h7

White to play and draw

Connected Pawns Against the Long Diagonal

White to play and draw

Do Not Put the King In Front of the Pawns

Black to play and draw

All 24 bishop endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)