Bishop Endgame: Winning by Giving a Pawn Away
White to play and win
PlayThis is the precise ninth move Capablanca missed. You have passed pawns on both wings, and the winning move gives one of them away: 1.Bd2! lets Black take on g6, because the b-pawn wins by itself. Trying to keep both only draws.
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Give the g-Pawn Away
White to play and win · Win against perfect defense
Waking the engine…
The theory
Two passers do not always beat one. What matters is which ending you can reach by force.
Transpose, do not hoard. 1.Bd2! gives up the g6 pawn on purpose. What is left is bishop and pawn against bishop of the same color, and that ending is won here.
Why it is won. The defense in these endings is king behind king: the defending king must reach the square behind the attacking king before the pawn is escorted through. After the g-pawn falls, Black's king is one tempo short of doing it.
The finish. With the pawn on b5 and the kings locked, the bishop challenges the diagonal that guards b6. The defender has no second diagonal and the pawn goes through.
In this drill you must be willing to throw a pawn away to win.
Keep going
Centurini: Same-Colored Bishops
White to play and win
The Wrong Bishop's Bodyguard Pawn
White to play and win
Rear Opposition Holds
White to play and draw
All 24 bishop endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)