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Endgame · advanced

Bishop and Knight Checkmate

The hardest basic mate: you can only mate in a corner of your bishop's color.

Last updated

touch_appPlay it out against Stockfish. You have 35 moves; a move that throws the win away is caught and explained.

Quick answer

King, bishop and knight can mate a lone king, but only in a corner of the bishop's colour. Push the king to the edge, then drive it along the edge towards the right corner with the knight and bishop working together. It is the hardest basic mate: it can take over 30 moves.

The technique, step by step

The bishop on d1 is light-squared, so mate can only happen on a8 or h1. The black king sits on h8, the wrong corner: it must be driven along the edge.
The final picture in the right corner: the bishop checks along the long diagonal, the knight covers b8, the king covers a7 and b7. Checkmate.

Your task on the board

The hardest basic mate: you can only mate in a corner of your bishop's color.

Checkmate
Goal
White
You play
35 moves
Move limit

Tips from the lesson

  1. 1You have a light-squared bishop, so the mating corners are a8 and h1 (light squares).
  2. 2The knight covers the squares the bishop can't (opposite color).
  3. 3Use the 'W' knight manoeuvre to herd the king along the edge.

How the pieces work together

Bishop and knight cover opposite colors, and the king seals the rest. All three pieces must cooperate.

If you get stuck

Your bishop is light-squared, so mate must happen on a8 or h1. Drive the king toward a8.