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ANNOTATED GAME
The Two Bishop Endgame
ethansiegel (1827) vs. nicolso (1793)
Annotated by: ethansiegel
(1986)
Chess opening: Sicilian (B43), Kan, 5.Nc3
ethansiegel (1827) vs. nicolso (1793)
Annotated by: ethansiegel
(1986)
Chess opening: Sicilian (B43), Kan, 5.Nc3
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49... Ke4 50. Kc5 Kf5 |
Kd3 -- with an eye to taking the d4 bishop if Kxc6 -- is best met by Bb1+, forcing the king away from both bishops. | |||||||
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51. Kxc6 |
Three down. Time for Step 2: to corral the black king and force him to one side of the board. | |||||||
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51... Ke4 52. Kc5 Kd3 53. Bb1+ |
This forces the king off the third rank and nearer to the rim. | |||||||
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53... Ke2 54. Be4 |
And this will keep him there. Note how he can only move between d2 and e2 without backing up even farther. | |||||||
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54... Kd2 55. Kc4 |
Bringing the king in is essential. | |||||||
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55... Ke2 56. Kc3 |
And by taking away d2, black is forced onto the rim. | |||||||
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56... Kf1 |
Now that he's chosen a square, the key will be keeping him there. | |||||||
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57. Bf3 |
Taking away e2. Note that Kd2 here would have resulted in stalemate; it's important to be careful! | |||||||
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57... Ke1 58. Be3 |
This is the key position to setting up Step 3: checkmate in the corner. Black is caught between e1 and f1, making the kingside the "weak side" and the queenside the "strong side". To finish the mate, I'll have to move my king to the weak side, where it will cut off the black king's escape. | |||||||
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58... Kf1 59. Kd3 |
And I've got all the time in the world to do it. | |||||||
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59... Ke1 60. Ke4 Kf1 61. Kf4 Ke1 62. Kg3 Kf1 |
Now the last part begins: forcing the black king into the corner, which here means freeing up g1 and taking away e1. | |||||||
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63. Bd2 Kg1 |
And now to force him to h1. | |||||||
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64. Be2 Kh1 65. Kh3 |
This "extra" move is vital! Note how a premature Be3 here would result in stalemate. | |||||||
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65... Kg1 |
Forced. | |||||||
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66. Be3+ |
Black resigns. At last, victory is here; the finale is 66... Kh1 67. Bf3#. The computer's only complaint is that when I played 53. Bb1+ -- mating 13 moves later -- I could've gotten there 3 moves faster by playing Kd5. A win is a win, and that's how you do it with two bishops in the endgame! | |||||||
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