Rook and Bishop vs Queen: Holding the Fortress
Black to play and draw
PlayRook and bishop hold a fortress against the queen: the bishop's long diagonals plus the rook cover the king, and the queen cannot force a way through.
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Rook & Bishop Hold vs Queen
Black to play and draw · Hold the draw against perfect play
Waking the engine…
The theory
The queen outweighs rook and bishop, but a fortress erases the gap: the bishop's reach and the rook together shield the king, and the queen has no breakthrough.
The queen's two tries, and the parries. (1) Win the bishop by attacking it while it is undefended: parry by keeping the bishop guarded by the rook or king and on the diagonal that denies the queen its checking squares. (2) Check the king into the open: parry by keeping the king behind the bishop's diagonal and the rook, so checks meet an interposition.
The losing break. A loose bishop or rook falls to a queen double attack, and a king dragged onto an open file or diagonal is forked. Keep the two pieces mutually defended and the king covered.
In this drill you defend with rook and bishop. Keep the wall intact and dodge the forks: the queen cannot crack a sound fortress.
Keep going
Rook versus Queen: Ponziani's Perpetual
Black to play and draw
Philidor's Position: Winning Queen versus Rook
White to play and win
Two Protected Squares, No Zugzwang
White to play and draw
All 19 queen vs rook positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)