Endgames Intermediate

Bishop vs Pawns Endgames

Bishop vs pawns endgames are deceptively tricky. A bishop can stop two connected passed pawns if it's on the right diagonal, but a single wrong move lets them through. The "wrong-coloured bishop" (a bishop that can't control the promotion square) creates notorious drawing problems.

The wrong-coloured bishop

The most important concept: if your bishop can't control the promotion square, you may not be able to win even with an extra pawn. Classic example: bishop + rook-pawn where the bishop doesn't control the corner, it's a draw because the defending king reaches the corner.

Bishop vs connected pawns

A bishop can usually stop two connected passed pawns if it sits on the right diagonal. But three connected pawns on the 5th rank defeat the bishop. The key: keep the pawns on the same colour as the bishop, then they block its diagonals and advance.

Training

Solve bishop vs pawn puzzles. Practise these positions against the computer to build intuition.

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