Rook vs Bishop with Rook Pawns: The Maizelis Method
Black to play and win, after Maizelis
PlayRook and an h-pawn against bishop and an h-pawn. One check pins the bishop and shuts White's king in the corner, and Maizelis's method is to keep it caged there while zugzwang does the rest.
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Maizelis: Cage the King in the Corner, Then Squeeze
Black to play and win · Win against perfect defense
Waking the engine…
The theory
Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.
Rook against bishop with a pawn each is usually drawn. Maizelis showed how to win it when the defending king can be imprisoned in the corner, and this position is the model.
Rh1+ is forcing. White has exactly one legal reply, Bh2. The bishop is pinned against the king on h3, so White must spend a move with the king (Kg2) before it can breathe again.
Do not capture it. Rxh2+ is an instant draw: the trade leaves a pawn ending with h4 and h5 blocking each other. Keep the rook and keep the white king boxed in instead.
Then squeeze. Ke4, Rd1, and the king walks to g4. The bishop frees itself here, and Bc7 is White's toughest try, but the caged king is what loses: White runs out of safe moves and the zugzwang finishes him. Note what never happens: no rook sacrifice, no pawn race.
The refuted plan. Our position "Imprison the King, Then Zugzwang" carries the same family. Imprisonment and zugzwang, not brute force, are what convert this material.
Keep going
Play for Zugzwang, Not a Breakthrough
White to play and win
The Colour Barrier You Cannot Cross
Black to play and draw
Give the Bishop, Reach Rook Against Pawn
White to play and draw
All 30 rook vs minor positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)