Bishop Endgame: Trading Into a Won One-Pawn Ending
White to play and win
PlayYou can win the g4 pawn only by giving up the a6 pawn, and the result depends on whether Black's king gets back in time. The rule: improve your king first and make Black's king move away, then take.
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Only the King Can Take That Pawn
White 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.
Taking at once is only a draw. After Bxg4 Bxa6 Kf4 Kc7 Bf3 Kd6 g4 Ke7, Black's king is back in time to stop the pawn.
Multi-pawn bishop endings are usually decided by which single-pawn ending you can steer into, and by whether the enemy king gets back in time.
The defender's pawn rule. When the bishops are of opposite colors, put your pawns on your own bishop's color. Keep them there and the enemy bishop can never touch them, so their king alone has to do the attacking. That is the exact inverse of the advice given to the stronger side. With bishops of the same color, as here, the shelter does not exist, and g4 can be taken by a bishop, which is why the win still begins with 1.Kf4! and not with the capture.
The transposition. Trading g4 for a6 leaves bishop and pawn versus bishop of the same color, which is won here because the pawn cannot be blockaded in time.
The finish. The king walks into the corner behind the pawn, and the bishop drives the enemy king back and then blocks the guarding diagonal.
In this drill you count first and capture second.
Keep going
Give the g-Pawn Away
White to play and win
Centurini: Same-Colored Bishops
White to play and win
The Wrong Bishop's Bodyguard Pawn
White to play and win
All 24 bishop endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)