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The two knights endgame is a chess endgame with a king and two knights versus a king. In contrast to a king and two bishops (on opposite-colored squares), or a bishop and a knight, a king and two knights cannot force checkmate against a lone king (however, the superior side can force stalemate [1] [2]).
A method for checkmate applicable when the lone king is in the corner of the opposite color from the bishop (the "wrong" corner, where checkmate cannot be forced), was given by François-André Danican Philidor in the 1777 update [5] to his famous 1749 treatise, L'Analyse des Échecs. [6]
The bishop and knight mate is one of the four basic checkmates and occurs when the king works together with a bishop and knight to force the opponent king to the corner of the board. The bishop and knight endgame can be difficult to master: some positions may require up to 34 moves of perfect play before checkmate can be delivered.
A bishop and knight can force mate, but with far greater difficulty than two bishops. In certain positions a bishop can by itself lose a move (see triangulation and tempo), while a knight can never do so. The bishop is capable of skewering or pinning a piece, while the knight can do neither. A bishop can in some situations hinder a knight from ...
The Traxler Counterattack, also known as the Wilkes-Barre Variation, is a chess opening that begins with the moves: . 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 Bc5!?. The opening is a variation of the Two Knights Defense [1] [2] where White has chosen the offensive line 4.Ng5, immediately attacking the f7-square with the knight and bishop, and Black has replied 4...Bc5, counterattacking the f2-square.
Checkmate can be forced with a bishop and knight, however, or with two bishops, even though the bishop and knight are in general about equal in value. Paradoxically, checkmate with two knights sometimes can be forced if the weaker side has a single extra pawn, but this is a curiosity of little practical value (see two knights endgame).
Black pins the knight to the queen by playing 5... Bg4. White tries to kick the bishop back by playing 6. h3 but Black plays 6... h5!. This move gives the Fishing Pole its name. The Black bishop on the g4 square is the bait and the h5 pawn is the hook. 7. hxg4?? hxg4. A blunder. White should have played 7. d3 instead, allowing them to block the ...
The end result of Philidor's mate: 1.Qg8+ Rxg8 2.Nf7# In chess, a smothered mate is a checkmate delivered by a knight in which the mated king is unable to move because it is completely surrounded (or smothered) by its own pieces, which a knight can jump over. The mate is usually seen in a corner of the board, since only three pieces are needed ...