Is it possible to checkmate with two bishops and a king

You do that by using your bishops and king to restrict the black king. There are many ways to do this, but one particular piece setup is easy to remember—placing your bishops side-by-side and bringing your king in to help. After you have successfully forced the enemy king to the board's edge, it's time for you to push it to one of the corners.

Once more, there are many ways to do that, but one straightforward pattern is easy to remember. In this position, you step back with the bishop closest to your king and then move your king to the square that your bishop previously occupied.

Next, you move the bishop again twice to place it next to the other bishop. After you do that, you reach a position similar to the one you started with, but the opponent's king is a bit closer to the board's corner. Repeating this pattern forces your opponent to keep moving closer to the board's corner, where you will be able to mate him. You should repeat that pattern until your king is just three squares away from the edge of the board.

In this position, you want to make sure the black king is not returning to the center. You do that by using your outer bishop to restrict the monarch. Then you should make way for your king with your light-squared bishop. Notice that Black is stuck on the g8 and h8 squares. After your king is in position, you are almost ready to deliver the checkmate.

Notice that if you make the wrong move, you might give Black the chance to repeat the previous position or, even worse, stalemate the black king. A waiting move forces Black to put his king on g8. You can then proceed to checkmate the king and win the game. Now that you know how to checkmate with two bishops, it's time to practice your skills. Solve the puzzles below using the technique you've just learned. Puzzle 1: There are many ways to restrict the black king in this position.

How can you do it using the pattern you've learned in this article? Puzzle 2: This is one of the key positions of this mating pattern. Do you remember which bishop move keeps the black king from returning to the center of the board?

You now know what the checkmate with two bishops looks like and how you can deliver it. Watch our interactive lesson about this checkmate and then head over to our Drills page to practice this checkmating pattern so you can execute it easily the next time you have a chance. Checkmate With Two Bishops. One of the possible final positions of checkmate with two bishops.

Boden's Mate uses the power of the two bishops. How To Deliver A Checkmate With Two Bishops The secret to checkmating with two bishops is to use them in conjunction with your king to force the opponent's king to the board's corner.

The two bishops work together to control the light and dark squares and to keep the black king restricted. Here is our starting position: You need to coordinate your pieces to force the king to the edge of the board. Notice how the bishops work together to control key diagonals, and the king comes in to support the bishops and control key squares. Be4 Ke6 9. Be5 Step 1 Accomplished! Kd5 Ke8 2. Ke5 Kf8 3. Kf5 Ke8 4. Kg6 Kf8 5. Bd7 Kg8 Now, we can take control over f8 , thereby pushing the opponent's king to the corner.

Be7 Kh8 Step 2 Accomplished! Step 3: Checkmate the Cornered King Here, it is important to be careful to avoid a common stalemate that occurs in this position. And now the mate is easy. Be8 Kg8 2. Bf6 Below, I have included other types of checkmates that can occur if Black play's differently.

Bd2 1. Bc3 Ke4 2. Kb2 Kd3 3. Bf3 Ke3 4. Bd5 Kd3 5. Be5 Kd2 Ke3 6. Bd4 Kd3 7. Bc5 Ke2 8. Kc2 Kf1 9. Kd3 Ke1 Bg2 Kd1 Bf2 Kc1 Kc3 Kd1 Kb3 Ka1 Bd1 Kb1 Bd4 Ke4 2.

Bd4 7. Bf4 Kc5 8. Be4 Kb5 9. Be3 Ka6 Kc4 Ka5 Bc6 Bb7 Ka4 Bb6 Ka3 Kc3 Ka4 Kc2 Ka1 Ba4 Ka2 Ka6 Bc5 Ka5 Kd5 Ka6 Kd6 Ka5 Kc7 Ka6 Bb4 Ka7 Bb5 Ka8 Ba5 Ka7 Kd6 8. Kd8 Bd6 Ke8 Be6 Kd8 Bf7 Kc8 Be7 Kb8 Kb6 Kc8 Bd5 Ke8 Bd6 Kd8 Be6 Kf8 Kd5 Ke8 Ke5 Kf8 Kf5 Ke8 Kg6 Kf8 Bd7 Kg8 Be7 Kh8 Be8 Kg8 Improve this answer. Wes Wes 9, 30 30 silver badges 56 56 bronze badges. With two bishops you need to drive the king to one of the corners.

We'll first start with the ending moves to know where you want to go. Bd6 Kc8 2. Be7 Kb8 3. Bd7 Ka8 4. Bh3 Kb8 5. Bg2 Here is a longer example using the bishops to block along diagonals to force the opponent to the side, then the corner. Bd3 Kd5 2. Bb2 Kd6 3. Kd2 Kc5 4. Kb4 Kd6 6.