Minor piece ending
As a minor piece endgame is called a final in chess , in which both parties next to their king only through runners and / or Springer and farmers have. Queens and towers , which are among the heavy figures , are no longer there. A distinction is made between runner endings and knight endgames, which are dealt with in separate articles, as well as endgames with bishop against knight, which this article deals with.
Because bishops and knights have very different moving characteristics, a dispute between both turns out to be complicated for the inexperienced player and depends crucially on the existing pawn structure. Some basic knowledge of the pros and cons of both characters is essential for a successful game. The following principles are generally recognized:
- In closed positions without a passed pawn , the knight is superior to the runner because he can almost always find a path to any square.
- In open positions with passed pawns on both sides, the runner is superior to the jumper because he can work in different places at the same time.
- Since the knight has to change the color of his square with every move, he cannot make a waiting move . He therefore runs the risk of being forced to act and / or being dominated by the runner.
- Naturally, the bishop can only control the squares of one color on the chessboard, not the squares of the other color.
Of course there are also positions in which the advantages and disadvantages are balanced, i.e. the position is in a dynamic equilibrium.
The jumper controls the runner
Here is an impressive example from a German championship. White had just settled into the endgame:
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19. h4 This means that the white pawns on the kingside are initially inaccessible to the bishop. 19.… Kg7 20. Ne4 f5 21. Nc5 An ideal blockade area . 21.… Bc8 22. Kd2 Kf6 23. Ke3 h6 24. f4! Defines the pawn and demotes the bishop to an extra who can only defend. 24.… g5 25. hxg5 hxg5 26. Nd3 exf4 27. gxf4 gxf4 + ?! 28. Nxf4 Ke5?
29.Nd3 + Kd6 30. Kd4 Bb7 31. c4 Ba6 32.Nc5 Bc8 The knight dominates the bishop. 33. e3 Ke7 Black is forced to move . 34. Ke5 Kf7 The bishop is tied to f5. 35. Nd3 Ke7 36. Nb4 Bd7 37. Sa6 Kd8 38. Kf6 Bc8 39. Nc5 Ke8 40. Ne6 White wins a pawn and the game.
The runner dominates the jumper
The following sequence from a game Artur Jussupow - Wolfgang Uhlmann serves to illustrate the advantages of the bishop over the knight :
1998
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55.… Kd7
The bishop controls all squares of the knight (after 55.… Nc6 56. Bxc6 Kxc6 the conversion of one of the two advanced pawns is a done deal).
56. Ke4 Ke7
57. Kf5 h5
58. h4 c4
Black is forced to move and sacrifices the c-pawn in order to free his knight. (after 58.… Ke8 59. Kf6 c4 60. e6 c3 White reaches the opposing back row first).
59. Ke4
As a result, White places the king back in the pawn's square .
59 ...
Nb3 60. Bxc4 Nd2 +
61. Kd5 Nf3
62. Bd3!
Black now gave up, because after 62 ... Nxh4 63.Be4 the knight is trapped again.
The jumper dominates the runner
In open positions, the jumper rarely dominates the runner. In the following composition, the passed pawn on the a- file enables this .
Hastings and St Leonard's Post, 1922
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1. Nd4 + Kc5
2. Kh1!
Black is under pressure to act . If the king captures the knight, the a-pawn cannot be stopped (also with Kb4, Kc4 and Kd5). In the case of Kd6, Black loses his bishop after 3.Nf5 + .
Realization of a farmer overweight
An extra pawn is often the key to victory. Problems can arise, however, when there are only a few pawns left on the board and the opponent is ready to sacrifice the piece.
Runner and pawn against knight
If the defending king can get in front of the pawns, the draw is usually clear. However, if the defending king is behind the pawn or at a distance, the knight must first fight the pawn alone. His goal of sacrificing himself against the pawn can be prevented in some positions with the far advanced pawn with the help of forced draft , which in these cases gives the bishop party victory.
In the following study, despite the poor position of the figure, the knight's party just and surprisingly reached the draw.
Neue Leipziger Zeitung, 1934
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Author solution:
1. Kg4 f3
2. Kg3 Kg1
3. Ne6!
The bishop is hopelessly overwhelmed, as he cannot protect his pawn and dominate the knight at the same time (1.… Bxe6 4. Kxf3).
3.… f2
4. Nf4 f1D
5. Nh3 + Kh1
6. Nf2 + Kg1 and White gives permanent check
Secondary solution:
1. Nf7!
Again the bishop is overloaded (1.… Bxf7 2. Kg4)
1.… f3
2. Nd6! f2
3. Nf5 f1D
4. Ng3 + Kg1
5. Nxf1 Kxf1 and White holds a draw
Note: The study was subsequently corrected by moving White's king to h3 as it was worthless with a secondary solution .
Knight and a pawn against a bishop
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The same applies here: If the defending king can get in front of the pawns, the draw is clear. Only when the pawn is already on the sixth or seventh row and the defending king is very far away from him, there are some exceptional cases in which the knight party wins, namely when the bishop stops the pawn on a diagonal of at most four squares. The attacking party can use this to drive the bishop off this diagonal or to cut off the square in front of the pawn with the knight.
1.… Bd8 Because White threatened to win with 2. Nb6.
2. Nf4 Kf2
3. Ne6 Ba5
4. Ka6 and White wins.
Two runners against one jumper
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The final of the king and two bishops against a knight has long been considered to have been won, although some exceptional positions were known that should be drawn. Ken Thompson's computer Belle calculated in 1983, following a recommendation from John Roycroft, as the first five stone endgame to be the pawnless endgame of two bishops against one jumper, thus proving that these special cases have also been won. However, according to Thompson, victory first requires up to 66 moves without a stroke, which would practically be a draw due to the 50- move rule with the best game on both sides. At the same time, Ofer Comay was independently researching the endgame, which specified 67 moves as the maximum. He found twelve positions to do this.
Individual references and sources
- ↑ John Roycroft: A prophecy fulfilled , in: EG 74, pp. 217-219 ( online version of EG 74 , PDF , 4.4 MB)
- ↑ John Roycroft: Two bishops against knight , in: EG 75, pp. 249-252 ( online version of EG 75 ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. , PDF, 4 MB)
