Opposite Bishops: The E- and F-Pawn Cage
White to play and win
PlayTwo connected pawns still on the second rank, and the position is already winning. This exact pair, the e-pawn and the f-pawn, can build a cage around a dark-squared bishop. Few players know it, which is exactly why it wins games.
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The Cage
White to play and win · Win against perfect defense
Waking the engine…
The theory
An opposite-colored-bishop ending can be winning even with both pawns still on their starting rank. The e-pawn and f-pawn pair is the special case: advanced to e5 and f4 they build a cage that shuts a dark-squared bishop out of play.
Build the cage. Push f4, then e4-e5. With pawns on e5 and f4 the long dark diagonal is cut, and the bishop cannot reach the good defensive squares. Black is one tempo short of king on f6 with the bishop behind the pawns.
Zugzwang inside the cage. The bishop must stay near g7 and h6 to guard the front squares, but there it has almost no moves. The white king marches Kg5-g6-h7 and the bishop is squeezed until it is lost. One warning: do not push f5 while the bishop still reaches g7, or Black blockades and draws.
In this drill the defender will shuffle the bishop and wait. Set the cage, walk the king in, and take the last square from the bishop.
Keep going
One File Apart: The King Blockade Holds
Black to play and draw
When the Attacker Owns the Corner
White to play and win
Central and Rook Pawn: Deny b7
Black to play and draw
All 19 opposite bishops positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)