Bishop vs Connected Pawns: Where the Defending King Belongs
Black to play and draw
PlayTwo pawns are rolling toward you. Your bishop watches a8 from the long diagonal or attacks the pawns, and your king stays beside them. The rule: never run the king in front of the pawns, because White's own king then walks up and escorts them to promotion.
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Do Not Put the King In Front of the Pawns
Black to play and draw · Hold the draw against perfect play
Waking the engine…
The theory
Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.
a8 is the a-pawn's queening square, and it is light, the color of your bishop. Only five moves hold: Bf3, Bg4, Ke5, Ke6 and Ke7. Everything else loses.
Facing connected passed pawns with a bishop, the two pieces have separate jobs, and swapping them loses.
The bishop takes the long diagonal. It has to eye the rook pawn's queening square from far away, here a8 along the a8 to h1 line. From there it can drop in front of the pawn when the pawn commits.
The king does not go in front. Running the king around to c8 or b8 leaves it doing nothing, and this game is the proof: Kd7 and Kc8 lose, while keeping the king next to the b-pawn draws.
The final resource. With the bishop on a8, capturing it entombs the attacking king in the corner and the defender picks off the other pawn.
Why it loses: autopilot. When the defending king does run in front of the pawns, the attacker wins on autopilot. His king steps past to a6 and a7, shields the queening square with its own body, and the pawns march in behind it.
In this drill two pawns roll at you. Put each piece where it belongs.
Keep going
Locked Knight Pawns: the Defender Holds
Black to play and draw
Blocked Rook Pawns: the Defender Holds
Black to play and draw
King Behind King
Black to play and draw
All 24 bishop endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)