Opposite Bishops: The Overextended Knight Pawn Draws
Black to play and draw
PlayTwo pawns down, and you draw, because the b-pawn went too far: on b7 it stands in its own king's way. The rule: your king stops the f-pawn, your bishop stops the b-pawn, and your king never lets White's king walk round the edge of the board.
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The Overextended Knight Pawn
Black to play and draw · Hold the draw against perfect play
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The theory
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Your bishop holds b8 and your king stands on f6, in front of the f-pawn, so the only danger is his king going round by the h-file. Only one move holds here. Watch Bc7 lose: after Kg4 and Kh5 his king gets to the edge, Bc8 starts a chain of zugzwangs, and his king walks all the way round to c8.
With passed pawns separated by three files, the defense can still hold when one is a knight's pawn that has advanced too far. On the seventh rank the knight's pawn blocks its own king, so the attacker cannot support its promotion.
Fixed roles. The bishop holds the far pawn from the b8 corner, and the king stops the nearer f-pawn. Neither piece may swap jobs, and a careless bishop tempo move loses at once, even on the b8-h2 diagonal: the king, not the bishop, must answer the edge march.
Watch the edge. The one real danger is an outflanking march along the h-file. When the enemy king heads for h4 and h5, meet it with Kg5 and Kg6 to shoulder it away. Central tries are answered by returning the king in front of the f-pawn.
In this drill White will alternate between the edge and the center. Hold the bishop on b8, meet the edge march with the king, and the blockade cannot be broken.
Keep going
Knight Pawn Kept Back: Two Threats at Once
White to play and win
Outflanking with a- and e-Pawns
White to play and win
Guard e6, But From the Right Square
Black to play and draw
All 19 opposite bishops positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)