Knight and King vs Two Pawns: Mate in the Corner
White to play and win
PlayKnight against two pawns, and the black king is stuck next to the h1 corner. A lone knight can mate it there. The rule: count the king's free squares. Take the last one with the knight while your king guards the others, and Black will have to push a pawn that closes his own corner.
Updated
New to this ending? Learn the method first: Knight Endgames
No signup needed. The opponent never gives up, and every mistake gets explained.
The Knight Mates the King in the Corner
White to play and win · Win against perfect defense
Waking the engine…
The theory
Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.
A king pressed into the corner is not just passive, it is a mating target. Here White does not collect the black pawns at all. The pawns stay on the board because they are what seals the black king in.
The mating net. With the white king on f2 covering g1, g2 and g3, the black king on h2 has only h1. The knight route Ne8-f6-g4 takes h2 away and blocks the g-pawn, so Black is left with almost no legal moves.
Zugzwang does the rest. 3.Kf1 is the only winning move: Black must play h3-h2, and the pawn that was supposed to be a threat now blocks the king's own escape square. 4.Nf2 is mate.
In this drill the defender will try to push a pawn through. Ignore the pawns, keep the king boxed, and finish with mate.
Keep going
A Lone Knight Mates in the Corner
White to play and win
The King Locked in Front of Its Pawn
Black to play and draw
The Knight Catches the Runner
White to play and draw
All 21 knight endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)