Bishop vs Rook and Pawn: The Stalemate Save
White to play and draw, after Gusev - Zhukhovitsky, Alma Ata 1958
PlayKing and bishop against rook and a pawn one step from queening. Your king on a1 cannot move, so the bishop does all the work. The rule: shuttle the bishop between d5 and g2, on the long diagonal from a8 to h1. On either square, taking it is stalemate.
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Stalemate, Not a Fortress
White to play and draw · Hold the draw against perfect play
Waking the engine…
The theory
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Your king has no move: b1 is covered by the a2 pawn, and b2 by the black king. Only the bishop can move, and only Bd5+ draws. Watch the natural Bg2, without check: after Ka3 every white move loses.
Gusev saved this against Zhukhovitsky in 1958. It looks like a blockade, but the blockade is not what holds it.
Your king is already stalemated. On a1 it has no square: b1 is attacked by the black a2 pawn, b2 by the black king. Only the bishop can move, which means you are permanently one bad bishop move away from zugzwang.
Every capture is stalemate. The bishop shuttles on the a8-h1 diagonal, and when Black lines up to win it, you offer it anyway: after Bd5, Rxd5 leaves White with no legal move. That is the whole defence.
It is not a rule, it is an exception. Only Bd5+ draws here, then only Bg2, then only Bd5. And it works solely because the black rook is on the h-file. Move the rook to f2 or d2 and the same king, bishop and pawn structure is completely lost.
In this drill the rook hunts your bishop. Find the only moves, and remember: the save is stalemate.
Keep going
Rook vs Knight: Keep the Knight Beside Its King
White to play and draw
The Pawn on the Bishop's Colour Is Lost
White to play and win
The Knight Does Two Jobs on h3
White to play and draw
All 30 rook vs minor positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)