King, Bishop & Knight vs King
EndgameCheckmate TechniqueGoal: checkmate
The position
| ♚ | |||||||
| ♗ | ♘ | ♔ |
White to move and win by checkmate. This is a technique you need to know cold: once you have the method, it works every time.
The idea
King, bishop and knight against a lone king is the hardest of the basic mates, but it is a forced win. The difficulty is that checkmate is only possible in the corner of the same colour as your bishop.
How to do it
- Drive the enemy king to the edge using your king, bishop and knight together.
- Find out which corners match the colour of your bishop. The mate will happen in one of those two corners.
- If the king is heading for the wrong corner, use the knight and bishop to push him along the edge towards the right one. A knight manoeuvre in the shape of a letter W does this.
- Once the king is in the right corner, tighten the net with the king and the knight and give mate with the bishop or knight.
Common mistakes
- Letting the king sit in the wrong-coloured corner and not knowing how to move him.
- Leaving the knight or bishop unprotected so the king captures it.
- Running out of time: you have 50 moves without a capture or pawn move, so learn the method.
Remember
Mate only happens in the corner your bishop controls, so steer the king there.