Originally posted by CCNoobHi Jie / z00t - I thought you'd left the site with your tail between your legs.
That looks like dignified BS. There is Article 5 of the FIDE Laws of Chess that details ways a game may draw and that BS is not there. Beginners often make up illegal rules like in this situation. If a position arises with king and one bishop versus king and one bishop on a chess server it would award the game as a draw.
From http://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=124&view=article
5.2 b
The game is drawn when a position has arisen in which neither player can checkmate the opponent`s king with any series of legal moves. The game is said to end in a `dead position`. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing the position was legal.
And
6.10
Except where Articles 5.1 or one of the Articles 5.2 (a), (b) and (c) apply, if a player does not complete the prescribed number of moves in the allotted time, the game is lost by the player. However, the game is drawn, if the position is such that the opponent cannot checkmate the player`s king by any possible series of legal moves, even with the most unskilled counterplay.
So as you can see, K+B vs K+B where the bishops are of opposite colour is not drawn if one side's flag falls.
In the UK we have rapidplay rules which allow one player to claim a draw if he has less than two minutes on his clock and his opponent cannot win "by normal means". However this has to be claimed, it is not automatic.
Only 2 times total have I been faced with having to force a checkmate with K-Kn and B and in both cases in friendly games. It is always a forced win within the rules of chess against a lone King as has already been said here. However on one ocassion only my lone King was faced by K and 2 light squared Bishops! As a result of previous opponent underpromotions for tactical reasons,I found myself with a drawn game which was due to a case of my own severe carelessness. I had clearly lost. Nothing ever indicated again so much to me,that any game of chess is not lost,until it is lost!😳
Originally posted by Fat LadyThat's a great story.
There was a strange situation in a tournament I was a controller at the other day. The game was between a couple of eight year olds and they ended up with king and bishop each, no other pieces or pawns. The bishops were of opposite colour. One player knew that it was drawn so sat there and let his time run out whereupon the other controller (a 2300 player) ...[text shortened]... checkmate his opponent, even with his opponent making terrible moves, then he can win on time.
I recall playing K+B+N vs. K out only once here. My opponent didn't resign (which is perfectly fine) so I decided to promote that way to try it out. It starts at move 58: Game 4152511
It's worth learning for tournament players 1600+ and up. Practice vs. a computer or swap tries with a friend in speed chess. Once you get the basic procedure it's straightforward. Over the years I've practiced it enough to where I can reliably win it with <60 seconds, which really means that it's not too terribly tricky.
1. Force King to corner with the color opposite the bishop.
2. Place K on third rank and use the N to pull the K out of the corner. N's position is towards the checkmating corner.
3. Squeeze the K towards the checkmating corner, B controls one color, N the other. N alternates between 2nd rank and 4th in a "W" pattern.
3a. If K is reluctant, pattern is slower but more reliable.
3b. If K rushes ahead (by itself can outrun three pieces moving separately), N and B build a cage to reel him back to the 1st rank. This is the hardest part if you've never seen it before. It's also how you should try to defend in case your opponent hasn't seen it.
4. Once the K is stuck on two squares by only K+B (corner and adjacent, B controls the next square), reposition the N to check from the side to force the K to corner.
5. Bishop moves one diagonal over to mate.
Like many endgame winning procedures, the winning side will often "lose a move" to force the enemy K to retreat.
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Originally posted by USArmyParatrooperTry this little gem. excellent video!
I kind of have a two part questions.
I know that it's impossible to mate your opponent with only King - Bishop or King - Knight.
Can it be done with one knight and one bishop? If so, can you always force a mating web, or is it possible your opponent can create a purpetual cat-and-mouse game?
Originally posted by wormwoodTop post. I didn't think it was possible to explain this in check mate words...just skimmed now and will read in full later.
here's a short explanation I wrote when I was learning it myself a few years back:
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Mating With KNB vs. K
I thought I'd make a separate post on all cases I'm going to tackle, so here is the first one. Maybe it'll even help someone else, although I'm probably not going to get overly detailed where the matters are trivial ...[text shortened]... a7 34.Kc7 Ka8 35.Bb5 Ka7 36.Nc8+ Ka8 37.Bc6# 1-0
I learned this ending originally from Yasser Seirawans endings book. He describes it as quite hard as it took him a whole week to learn!
But as I haven't practiced I doubt I could deliver it under time pressure when just one slip up can lead to going over 50 moves. But give me the possibility of an adjournment or a cc game and I'd happily aim for it.
There's a sort of paradox too in that you can learn this against best play or against an engine and get to perform a 25 move mating sequence repeatedly by following the learned pattern. But in some positions against less than best play and having to work out a new albeit shorter path to mate could easily run adrift. I'd argue that it's worth learning just for its own sake and as a good exercise in combining the powers of a knight and bishop and making walls and nets.
Silman dismisses it altogether as being so rare as to not be worth the trouble. I can't disagree with him from a practical point of view, but it was a disappointment that he left it out of his otherwise comprehensive endings book.