Bishop vs Connected Pawns: Where the Defending King Belongs
Black to play and draw
PlaySame game, two moves later, and now you defend. The natural-looking plan, running the king around to block the pawns from the front, loses. The bishop belongs on the long a8 to h1 diagonal, and the king belongs beside the pawns, not in front of them.
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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
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 Hold
White to play and draw
Blocked Rook Pawns and Stalemate
White to play and draw
King Behind King
Black to play and draw
All 24 bishop endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)