Bishop with Blocked Knight Pawns: Drawn Fortress
White to play and draw
PlayA bishop and a knight pawn usually win, but here the pawns on g6 and g7 are locked together. With no way to advance, and the defending king close enough, the position is drawn.
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Locked Knight Pawns Hold
White to play and draw · Hold the draw against perfect play
Waking the engine…
The theory
A bishop and pawn win most of the time, but a blocked pawn removes the winning engine of the position.
The lock. When your pawn is fixed by an enemy pawn on the square in front, it cannot advance and cannot be defended into a promotion.
No second front. With only one pawn and no way to open the file, king and bishop have nothing else to attack, so the defender simply guards the block.
The fortress scales. Add more locked pawn pairs on the h-file, the f-file, the e-file, and it is still a draw. Locked pawns are not targets for a bishop. They are walls.
In this drill you search for progress that does not exist. Recognizing the drawn structure is the whole point.
Keep going
Blocked Rook Pawns and Stalemate
White to play and draw
King Behind King
Black to play and draw
The Position Janowsky Resigned
Black to play and draw
All 24 bishop endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)