Category: Endgame Strategy

This article contains an element of humor, since encountering such a situation in an actual game is highly unlikely. Nevertheless, it remains beneficial to develop proficiency with knights, as their unique abilities can prove advantageous in various tactical scenarios.

We need not further reason that most positions are won for the stronger party. In particular, the two connected passed pawns are naturally extremely strong. If they are supported by their own king, they win almost automatically.

Endgames of this type are difficult and often end in a draw, especially if the attacking side has a rook and a knight against the rook. Apart from specific situations where the king is pushed into a mating net, the prospects of a rook with a knight tend to be slim.

We have already seen that the queen is clearly stronger than the rook. But often a single pawn is enough to force a draw against the queen together with the rook. However, it is necessary to prevent the king of the attacking side from getting close to the defensive formation. Let’s look at both basic situations.

Why do I mention it here? Note the pawn structure – White dominates the king side (four pawns against three), while the black pawns on the queen side are fully blocked by the white ones, thanks to the doubled pawns on the d-file. Let’s have a look at the possible outcome that could appear at the endgame.

If the stronger side has an extra pawn on one flank and pawns are blocked on the other flank, the attacking player almost always wins. If they cannot directly claim a free pawn, the player wins by surrendering that pawn and gaining the opponent’s blocked pawn.

We know that in open positions, a bishop is stronger than a knight. This rule is also reflected in the endgame, where one player has a bishop and a pawn, while the opponent defends with a knight and a pawn. The bishop can not only stop the opponent’s pawn, but also control the space around his own pawn, while the knight is forced, due to his short range, to limit himself to only one task.

Ironically, even though a king accompanied by two knights cannot compel a checkmate against a single king, there are scenarios where this combination can successfully force checkmate against a king and other pieces. The additional material of the defending player allows for moves that obstruct the defending king from being stalemated.

The Prokeš maneuver is a technique that allows a rook to achieve a draw against two pawns that have advanced significantly in an endgame. This tactic was first demonstrated by Ladislav Prokeš, a Czech chess expert born on June 7, 1884, and who passed away on January 9, 1966, in a 1939 endgame study that he composed.

As a general rule, a bishop versus knight (and vice versa) with a pawn on the attacking side is a draw if the defending king is capable of blocking the pawn advance. Let me demonstrate both cases.