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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 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]
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]). Although there are checkmate positions, a king and two knights cannot force them against proper, relatively easy defense. [3]
To start the game, White's pieces are placed on the first rank in the following order, from left to right: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook. Pawns are placed on each square of the second rank. Black's position mirrors White's, with equivalent pieces on every file. [2]
A prime example consists of the moves: 1.f3 e5 2.g4 Qh4# Scholar's mate – checkmate achieved by the moves: 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6? 4.Qxf7#. The moves might be played in a different order or in slight variation, but the basic idea is the same: the queen and bishop combine in a simple mating attack on f7 (or f2 if Black is performing the ...
If 2.Rg1, 2...Bc5 sets up a battery targetting g1, where White can stop checkmate only by moving the c1-bishop to connect rooks. Since the only two squares available to the bishop are controlled by the black queen, loss of the bishop is unavoidable. White's best try is 2.Be3, giving up the bishop immediately and leaving Black an easily won ...
An unexpected result from empirical computer studies is that the princess (a bishop-knight compound) and empress (a rook-knight compound) have almost exactly the same value, even though the lone rook is two pawns stronger than the lone bishop. The empress is about 50 centipawns weaker than the queen, and the princess 75 centipawns weaker than ...
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.