Cutting the Knight Off with the Bishop

White to play and win

A knight on the rim can be deprived of every square it owns. One bishop move here takes all four of the knight's moves at once, and after that the pawn walks home.

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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 the defender never errs. Dominate the knight first, escort second, and the pawn promotes.

Keep going

Count the Diagonal, Then Block It

White to play and win

Good Bishop vs Bad Knight

White to play and win

The Knight Blockade vs Bishop and Pawn

Black to play and draw

All 12 bishop vs knight positions Follow the full curriculum (free)