Amazing Bishops and Knight Triangles

I came across one of these. It’s a Bishop Maze (9 moves)


Only the Bishop moves, nothing else. The Bishop must never move onto a
square where it can be taken and you have to place the Black King in check

If you want to give it a go then I’m giving the answer at the bottom of this blog.
(You are meant to do it in your head without moving the pieces.)

I do not know if these things are any good at helping you play Chess.
You have to identify the only square from where you can give a safe
check and work backwards. When playing Chess you think forward.


For instance if I wanted to get a Knight on g3 to c6 I would not put
the Knight on c6 in mind’s eye and move it backwards c6-b4-c2....
I’d plot it’s route going forward f1-e3-c2 the same way it would move.

But, apparently, these mazes boost your Chess IQ and does help you play better.
Though I suspect the people setting these things up have more fun than the solvers.

This was pretty scary, if scary is the right word. Probably ‘surprising is better.
I came across a recent and common RHP blunder recalling what I once called
the Knight’s Triangle. I even remembered doing the wee Knights Triangle graphic


And thought it was two maybe three years ago. It was actually May 2015!
Blog Post 226

The Knight Triangle (Part 2...Part 3 will be in another 8 years time.)



This is a very common blunder at our kitchen sink level. The basics being.

George Orwell - Domer9 RHP 2022

White played 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.Bxe7 Nxe7 and Black is a piece up.

Back in 2015 I stated; ‘White has lost a piece this way 807 times on RHP’
A lot has happened since then, this number is now 1,753. More than double.

Of course that sequence of moves ‘Nxd5 Nxd5 Bxe7 Nxe7’ does not always mean
it is a blunder, Sometimes it can be meant as part of a combination but in the vast
majority of games it is a game losing blunder. Here is it is again from a 2022 game.

Jeroen Preijde - Hanzii RHP 2022

I’ll be back in another 8 years. By then I fully expect the total to be well over 2,000.


Now a couple of King and Bishop endings from Red Hot Pawn.
One is a needless resignation but first we see a needless stalemate.

Fransie - Outback RHP 2017

That Stalemate pattern was repeated last year in JJWHU04 - Wally Patch RHP 2022.

Black played 58...g2 Stalemate. 58...Bxa5 59.Kh1. g2+ is the win.

Crypto - pavelborta RHP 2012


Also from last year a desperate ploy by Black, setting up a stalemate which worked!

elvisramone - robomach RHP 2022

Black has just played 49...Kg1-h8 White took on c4 and after a2
White had no choice but to take on a2 which is a stalemate. However...



The Bishop Maze Solution.
The PGN thingy will not let you move just a Bishop so the Black King will be moving
from b8 to a8 and back again so it will be on b8 when the Bishop gives it’s check.


The thread accompanying this blog is Thread 196310