Cutting Off the Knight: Bishop and Pawn Endgame
White to play and win
PlayA knight on the rim can lose every square it has. Here, one bishop move takes away all four knight moves at once, and after that the pawn goes through.
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Cutting the Knight Off with the Bishop
White to play and win · Win against perfect defense
Waking the engine…
The theory
A knight on the rim is a knight in trouble. A bishop with the right diagonal can take away every square it has, and a dominated knight is worth nothing at all.
Freeze it. From h5 the knight has exactly four moves: f4, g3, f6 and g7. Be5 covers all four. It is the only move that wins, and after it the knight is a spectator.
Then escort. Bring the king up with Kc5 before touching the pawn. Pushing d5-d6 at once is only a draw, because the black king comes in front of it while your bishop is still idle.
The point. After d6 Ke6, Kc6 Kxe5, d7 the black king wins the bishop and still loses the race. The knight on h5 is three hops from the queening square and never gets there.
In this drill you face an opponent that never gives up a half point. Dominate the knight first, escort second, and the pawn promotes.
Keep going
Only Be8 Stops the Pawn
Black to play and draw
Count the Diagonal, Then Block It
White to play and win
The Defending King Arrives in Time
White to play and draw
All 15 bishop vs knight positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)