Originally posted by Talem16Yasser Seirawan gives an excellent explanation and illustration of this "basic" (to him, I guess) mate...
Its is possible to mate someone with your kight + Bishop and King against his King???????? I really don't know
The lone King must be forced into a corner square, of the same color as that which is controlled by the enemy Bishop.
It is very difficult to do, and the thing is, one mistake by the superior side can allow the lone King to escape and draw by the 50 move rule.
I think that the maximum # of moves required to force this mate from any starting position is somewhere in the mid-high 30s. But it requires basically perfect play by the player with the superior forces.
Seirawan's explanation and illustrations are excellent, I understood every step as I read through it... just don't ask me to repeat it...