Wrong Bishop and Rook Pawn: The Cutoff Comes Up Short
White to play and draw
PlaySame wrong bishop, but now you are trying to win. The cutoff move Bh7 is the right idea, and in the next position it wins. Here it misses by one tempo, because your king starts on c2, not d2.
Updated
New to this ending? Learn the method first: The Wrong Bishop
No signup needed. The opponent never gives up, and every mistake gets explained.
The Cutoff That Arrives One Tempo Late
White to play and draw · Hold the draw against perfect play
Waking the engine…
The theory
The wrong bishop and rook pawn is not always a draw. The winning try has a name and a shape: cut the king off from the safe corner.
The cutoff. Bh7 covers g8. Because g8 is the only entrance to h8, one bishop move can lock the defending king out of the drawing corner.
The price. The bishop is then entombed on h7, and the h6 pawn sits on a dark square a light bishop can never guard. The king must arrive to support both.
The count. From c2 the king is one move too slow, so White has to give the bishop its freedom back and let the enemy king return to g8. From d2 it works. Endings like this are decided by counting, not by ideas.
In this drill you probe a draw that only one tempo separates from a win.
Keep going
Cutting the King Off With the Bishop
White to play and win
The Bishop Buried on h7
White to play and draw
Connected Pawns Against the Long Diagonal
White to play and draw
All 24 bishop endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)