Anyone ever got the chance to do this?
I managed to (or was allowed to?) corner white's dark square bishop in this game (see move 29)
(I play as black so maybe do the invert board thingy)
I also recall watching a video where Garry Kasparov did it against the famous musician and chess player Sting 🙂
Here's the video:
YouTube
Perhaps there is a lesson on the treatment of pawns somewhere in these games.
I've tried my best to be instructive but taketh from this what you will 🙂
[Event "Clan challenge"]
[Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"]
[Date "2013.08.17"]
[EndDate "2013.09.15"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fred Ryan"]
[Black "64squaresofpain"]
[WhiteRating "1542"]
[BlackRating "1542"]
[WhiteElo "1542"]
[BlackElo "1542"]
[Result "0-1"]
[GameId "10177516"]
1. e4 c5 2. Ng1f3 Nb8c6 3. Bf1c4 e6 4. b3 d5 {Gains attacking tempo} 5. exd5 exd5 6. Bc4d3 Bc8g4 7. h3 Qd8e7 {I felt this was a good move, as it forces white to double pawns on the f-file} 8. Qd1e2 Bg4xf3 9. gxf3 Nc6e5 {threatening Nxf3+, or even Nxd3+} 10. Bd3b5 {But white can play this, which forces the Knight back} 10... Ne5c6 11. Bc1b2 Qe7xe2 {Might as well alleviate the tension, and also allow Ne7 to cover c6} 12. Ke1xe2 {Although taking with the Bishop was perhaps better, as at least then white could still have 0-0-0} 12... Ng8e7 13. Nb1c3 d4 {Hits the knight, and also closes off the a1-h8 diagonal for white's dark-square Bishop} 14. Nc3e4 {hitting the unprotected c5} 14... a6 {Red light on Fritz... I had missed Nd6+ here, which at the very least wins a pawn for white} 15. Bb5xc6 {But white missed it too, and so played into my hand} 15... Ne7xc6 {As the trade off allows discovered protection of c5 from the Bishop} 16. a3 Bf8e7 17. Ra1e1 {Maybe white was planning to crawl the King to safety... but that does lose a lot of tempo} 17... O-O 18. Re1g1 {two rook moves in a row... further waste of tempo, but white's plan is to target g7} 18... b6 19. c3 a5 20. h4 Ra8d8 21. h5 h6 {Stops any funny business with the pawn} 22. Bb2c1 {Aiming down h6, but black has prepared...} 22... d3 {d3+, stopping white's d-pawn from moving, thus beginning the Bishop imprisonment} 23. Ke2d1 f5 24. Ne4g3 f4 {Might as well block these, too} 25. Ng3e4 Nc6e5 26. Rg1g2 {Perhaps an error... Rh3 defended the f3 pawn} 26... Ne5xf3 27. Rh1h3 Nf3e5 28. Bc1b2 {A top tip: If you want your Bishop to break out of jail, move the bricks first!} 28... c4 29. b4 {maybe expecting axb4, but} 29... a4 {black has a4 and now the Bishop is trapped} 30. Kd1e1 Rd8e8 31. f3 Be7h4 {If Rxh4, black has Nxf3+ which wins a pawn and an exchange} 32. Ke1f1 Bh4g3 {Gives back a pawn but I don't mind, it simplifies things} 33. Ne4xg3 fxg3 34. Rh3xg3 {I could have played Rxf3+ here, and in hindsight I'm not sure why i didn't... maybe I just overlooked it} 34... Rf8f7 35. Kf1f2 {Rf2 was better as it could lead to having three defenders for f3} 35... Re8f8 {Now the pawn drops anyway} 36. Kf2e3 Ne5xf3 {Which is annoying because I could have done it 2 moves ago} 37. Ke3e4 Rf8e8 38. Ke4d5 b5 39. Kd5c5 Re8e5 {I had thought I could sense mate, but white always has Ka5... my priority was to ensure that b5 doesn't fall} 40. Kc5b6 Rf7f6 41. Kb6a5 Rf6f7 42. Ka5b6 Nf3g5 43. Rg3g4 Rf7f6 44. Kb6a5 Rf6f7 45. Ka5b6 Ng5e6 46. Rg4d4 {Offers an exchange in an attempt to free the Bishop} 46... Ne6xd4 47. cxd4 Rf7f6 48. Kb6a5 Re5d5 {But black can simply hold position} 49. Rg2g4 Rf6f5 50. Rg4g6 Rf5xh5 {And with this pawn gone I can get my king involved and the game is virtually over} 51. Rg6b6 Rh5g5 52. Ka5a6 h5 53. Rb6e6 h4 54. Re6e3 Rg5g3 55. Re3e5 Rg3g5 {I realised my mistake, so moved the rook back to the strong 5th rank} 56. Re5e3 Kg8h7 57. Ka6b6 Kh7h6 58. Re3e8 Kh6h5 59. Kb6c6 h3 60. Re8h8 Kh5g4 61. Rh8h7 Kg4g3 62. Rh7xg7 h2 63. Rg7xg5 Rd5xg5 64. d5 {Finally the Bishop sees daylight, but} 64... h1=Q {A double attack on d5 forces white to resign} 0-1
The best part of this game?
It was 64 moves long 😀
If anyone else has an example where you corner a bishop, feel free to share 🙂
Cornering a Bishop
19 Sep '13 16:121 edit