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In chess
Chess

Chess is a recreational and competitive game played between two Player . Sometimes called Western chess or international chess to distinguish it from History of chess and other chess variants, the current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century after evolving from similar, much older...
 endgames with a bishop
Bishop (chess)

A bishop is a Chess piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's Knight and the King , the other between the queen's knight and the Queen ....
, a pawn
Pawn (chess)

The pawn is the weakest and most numerous chess piece in the game of chess, representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen....
 that is a rook pawn may be the wrong rook pawn. With a single bishop, the result of a position may depend on whether or not the bishop controls the square on the chessboard
Chessboard

A chessboard is the type of checkerboard used in the game of chess, and consists of 64 squares arranged in two alternating colors . The colors are called "black" and "white" , although the actual colors are usually dark green and buff for boards used in competition, and often natural shades of light and dark woods for home boards....
 on which the pawn would promote
Promotion (chess)

Promotion is a chess term describing the transformation of a Pawn that reaches its eighth rank into the player's choice of a Queen , Knight , Rook , or Bishop of the same List of chess terms#Color ....
. Since a side's rook pawns promote on opposite-colored squares, one of them may be the "wrong rook pawn" . This situation also known as having the wrong-colored bishop or wrong bishop, i.e.






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In chess
Chess

Chess is a recreational and competitive game played between two Player . Sometimes called Western chess or international chess to distinguish it from History of chess and other chess variants, the current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century after evolving from similar, much older...
 endgames with a bishop
Bishop (chess)

A bishop is a Chess piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's Knight and the King , the other between the queen's knight and the Queen ....
, a pawn
Pawn (chess)

The pawn is the weakest and most numerous chess piece in the game of chess, representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen....
 that is a rook pawn may be the wrong rook pawn. With a single bishop, the result of a position may depend on whether or not the bishop controls the square on the chessboard
Chessboard

A chessboard is the type of checkerboard used in the game of chess, and consists of 64 squares arranged in two alternating colors . The colors are called "black" and "white" , although the actual colors are usually dark green and buff for boards used in competition, and often natural shades of light and dark woods for home boards....
 on which the pawn would promote
Promotion (chess)

Promotion is a chess term describing the transformation of a Pawn that reaches its eighth rank into the player's choice of a Queen , Knight , Rook , or Bishop of the same List of chess terms#Color ....
. Since a side's rook pawns promote on opposite-colored squares, one of them may be the "wrong rook pawn" . This situation also known as having the wrong-colored bishop or wrong bishop, i.e. the bishop is on the wrong colored squares in relation to the rook pawn . In many cases, the wrong rook pawn will only draw
Draw (chess)

In chess, a draw is one of the possible outcomes of a game, the others being a win for White and a win for Black . Traditionally, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser....
, when any other pawn would win. A fairly common defensive tactic is to get into one of these drawn endgames, often through a sacrifice
Sacrifice (chess)

In the game of chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a Chess piece or Pawn in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms....
.

In some endgames such as having a bishop and pawn versus a lone king
King (chess)

In chess, the King is the most important chess piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that he would not be able to avoid capture ....
 (perhaps with pawns), the wrong rook pawn is the one whose promotion square is the opposite color as that on which the bishop resides, which makes the stronger side unable to win. This was known at least as early as 1623 because of an endgame study
Endgame study

An endgame study, or just study, is a composed chess position ? that is, one that has been made up rather than one from an actual game ? presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find a way for one side to win or draw, as stipulated, against any moves the other side plays....
 by Gioachino Greco (see below).

A less-common situation is when the defense has a bishop versus a rook
Rook (chess)

A rook is a chess piece in the strategy board game of chess. In the past the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes , and non-players still often call it a "castle"....
 and rook pawn; the wrong rook pawn is the one that promotes on the square not controlled by the bishop because the defending king
King (chess)

In chess, the King is the most important chess piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that he would not be able to avoid capture ....
 and bishop can form a blockade in the corner (on the pawn's promotion square) and draw the game. (This is also called the safe corner for the defending king.)

Bishop and pawn



In this type of endgame, the wrong rook pawn is the one whose queening square is the opposite color as that on which the bishop resides. Many such positions are drawn
Draw (chess)

In chess, a draw is one of the possible outcomes of a game, the others being a win for White and a win for Black . Traditionally, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser....
 because of a fortress
Fortress (chess)

In chess, the fortress is an Chess endgame draw technique in which the side lagging in List of chess terms#Material sets up a zone of protection around their King that cannot be penetrated by the opponent....
 if the defending king can get to the corner in front of the pawn, see the diagram. With the bishop not able to control the a8 square, the black king cannot be forced away from the corner, so the pawn will not be able to promote
Promotion (chess)

Promotion is a chess term describing the transformation of a Pawn that reaches its eighth rank into the player's choice of a Queen , Knight , Rook , or Bishop of the same List of chess terms#Color ....
 . This is the basic type of position for most of these endgames .

Defending king in front of pawn


In a king and pawn versus king endgame with a rook pawn, the defending king only has to get in front of the pawn to draw the game. In contrast, in the endgame with a bishop and the wrong rook pawn, getting the defending king in front of the pawn will not necessarily draw. In this position from Edmar Mednis
Edmar Mednis

Edmar John Mednis was an American International Grandmaster of chess , born in Riga, Latvia. He was also a popular and respected chess writer....
, White wins if it is his move
1. Kg8! Kg5
2. Kg7
and the pawn promotes. Black to move draws by 1... Kh7! followed by 2... Kh8. The defending king must be in the corner or be next to it to be sure of a draw .

Examples from games


Goglidze-Kasparian


In this position from a 1929 game between Viktor Arsentievich Goglidze and Genrikh Kasparian
Genrikh Gasparyan

Genrikh Gasparyan is considered to have been one of the greatest chess composers of chess endgame studies. Outside Armenia, he is better known by the Russian language version of his name Genrikh Moiseyevich Kasparyan or Kasparian ....
, Black uses the tactic of offering the sacrifice
Sacrifice (chess)

In the game of chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a Chess piece or Pawn in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms....
 of his bishop for the pawn on the e file to leave White with the wrong rook pawn:
1... Bg4+!
and the game was drawn twelve moves later. The bishop will remain on the c8 to h3 diagonal and sacrifice itself for the pawn if it advances to e6. (Note that 1... Bb3+ does not work because of 2. Ke7 Bxf7 3. h6+!) .

Fischer-Taimanov


In this game from the 1971 World Chess Championship
World Chess Championship

The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Both men and women are eligible to contest this title....
 Candidate's Match
Candidates Tournament

The Candidates Tournament was a triennial chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship....
, the second game between Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer

Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an United States and Icelandic chess Grandmaster , and the eleventh World Chess Champion.As a teenager, Fischer became famous as a chess prodigy....
 and Mark Taimanov
Mark Taimanov

Mark Evgenievich Taimanov is a leading Russian chess player and concert pianist.He was awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1952 and played in the Candidates Tournament in Zurich in 1953, where he tied for eighth place....
, Black could have drawn the game because of the wrong rook pawn. One way is:
81... Nd3!
82. h4 Nf4
83. Kf5 Kd6!
84. Kxf4 Ke7
˝-˝
In the actual game, Black made an incorrect move (81... Ke4??) and lost because a knight has a hard time defending against rook pawns . (Fischer went on to win the match 6-0 and advance to the next round, and subsequently became World Champion.)

Karpov-Kasparov


Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov

Garry Kasparov is a Russian former World Chess Champion, regarded by many as Methods for comparing top chess players throughout history. He is also a writer and political activist....
 used sacrifices to leave Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov

Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess International Grandmaster and former World Chess Championship. He was undisputed World Champion from 1975 to 1985, repeatedly challenged to regain the title from 1986 to 1990, then was FIDE World Champion from 1993 to 1999....
 with the wrong rook pawn to save the twentieth game of their 1985 World Championship
World Chess Championship 1985

The 1985 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in Moscow from September 3 to November 9, 1985. Kasparov won....
, after a long endgame. In this position, Black sacrificed two pawns for one (the ones on f5 and g6 for the one on a4):
82... Bb3!
83. Be8 Ke7
84. Bxg6 Bxa4
85. Bxf5 Kf6
˝-˝
A draw was agreed
Draw by agreement

In chess, a draw by agreement is the outcome of a game due to the agreement of both players to a draw . A player may offer a draw to his opponent at any stage of a game; if the opponent accepts, the game is a draw....
 because the black bishop can stop the advance of the pawn on the f-file, sacrificing itself if necessary, leaving White with the wrong rook pawn (the one on the h file) , . (Kasparov went on to win the match 13-11 and became World Champion for the first time.)

Korchnoi-Karpov


In this game from the 1978 World Championship
World Chess Championship 1978

The 1978 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in Baguio City, Philippines from July 18 to October 18, 1978. Karpov won....
 between Victor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov, White's pawn is the wrong rook pawn. White went on to capture the black b-pawn on move 107, but was unable to force the black king far enough away from the a8 square to get to a winning position. The game ended in an intentional stalemate
Stalemate

Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. One of the rules of chess is that stalemate ends the game, with the result a draw ....
 on move 124 (see Stalemate#Korchnoi-Karpov
Stalemate

Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. One of the rules of chess is that stalemate ends the game, with the result a draw ....
 for the final position). Some commentators thought that Korchnoi might have missed a win in this endgame, but Karpov defended well and White never had a theoretically won position. (However, Korchnoi did miss a win earlier in the game.) Black's pawn on b5 is actually a liability. If the black king is forced into a position where he cannot move, black would have to move the pawn and White would win the game. As of 2008, this is the longest game of a world championship , . (Karpov retained his title by a score of six wins to five.)

Opposite-colored bishops



Usually when each side has a bishop and they are on opposite-colored squares and one side has two widely-separated pawns, the stronger side wins. However, if one of the pawns is the wrong rook pawn and the defending king
King (chess)

In chess, the King is the most important chess piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that he would not be able to avoid capture ....
 is blocking it, the position is usually a draw because the defending bishop can stop the other pawn. If the defending bishop is sacrificed
Sacrifice (chess)

In the game of chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a Chess piece or Pawn in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms....
 for the other pawn, the resulting position is a draw like the ones above .

With opposite-colored bishops, two connected pawns
Connected pawns

In chess, connected pawns are two or more pawns of the same color on adjacent file , as distinct from isolated pawns. These pawns are instrumental in creating pawn structure because, when diagonally adjacent, like the two rightmost white pawns, they form a Glossary of chess#Pawn chain, a chain where the one behind protects the one in front....
 win if they safely reach the sixth rank, except when one is the wrong rook pawn, i.e. the defending bishop is on the long diagonal that includes the square on which the rook pawn would promote .

Example from game


in this game between FIDE Master
FIDE Master

FIDE Master is a title awarded by the world chess governing body, F?d?ration Internationale des ?checs . Introduced in 1978, FM ranks below the titles of International Master and International Grandmaster, but ahead of Candidate Master....
 Edgar Walther and Bobby Fischer, White has just made a bad move (54. a4?; 54. b4! wins). Black's defensive plan is to sacrifice
Sacrifice (chess)

In the game of chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a Chess piece or Pawn in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms....
 his bishop for the two queenside pawns, leaving White with the wrong rook pawn (the h-pawn) for his bishop. The game was drawn nine moves later , .

Rook and rook pawn versus bishop



The wrong rook pawn may come up in other situations, such as this position with a rook
Rook (chess)

A rook is a chess piece in the strategy board game of chess. In the past the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes , and non-players still often call it a "castle"....
 and rook pawn versus a bishop. This time the bishop is defending against the rook pawn. If the pawn had not yet reached the fifth rank, White would win. Play might continue:
1. Rb7 Bc2
2. Kg5 Bd3
3. Kh6 Kg8!
4. Rg7+ Kf8!! (4... Kh8?? loses)
˝-˝
White cannot win because his king cannot move to the h5 square. If the bishop were on the other colored squares, White would win .

If the defending king is in the corner controlled by his bishop then the pawn can be sacrificed at the right moment to get to a winning rook versus bishop position. If the defending king is in the corner opposite his bishop's color, sacrificing the pawn does not work because the defender easily forms a fortress in the corner
Fortress (chess)

In chess, the fortress is an Chess endgame draw technique in which the side lagging in List of chess terms#Material sets up a zone of protection around their King that cannot be penetrated by the opponent....
 . This is also referred to as the defending king being in the "safe" corner, since with the king in the corner with the bishop next to it, he is safe from the rook.

Example from game


In this position from a game between future World Champion Max Euwe
Max Euwe

Machgielis Euwe was a Netherlands chess Grandmaster , mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Championship ....
 and Karel Hromádka
Karel Hromádka

Karel Hrom?dka was a Czech Republic chess player, two-time Czech champion, 1913 and 1921 .Hrom?dka played in the Chess Olympiad, Paris 1924 and scored 6.5/8 for a first place in the Consolation Cup....
, Black should win but he errs by advancing his pawn too soon. Play continued:
1... h4?? (Black wins easily after 1... Kh3!)
2. Bd4 Kh3? (Black still could have won here with 2... Re2!, but it is complicated.)
3. Be5 Rg2+
4. Kf1! ˝-˝ .


In studies


Rauzer


In this 1928 endgame study
Endgame study

An endgame study, or just study, is a composed chess position ? that is, one that has been made up rather than one from an actual game ? presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find a way for one side to win or draw, as stipulated, against any moves the other side plays....
 by Vsevolod Rauzer
Vsevolod Rauzer

Vsevolod Alfredovich Rauzer was a Ukrainians chess master known for his great contributions to chess theory, especially of the Sicilian Defence....
, White to move can force a win if the black king is on or below the line indicated. Similar positions were studied by Josef Kling
Josef Kling

Josef Kling was a Germany chess master and chess composer. In 1851 he wrote Chess Studies with Bernhard Horwitz....
 and Bernhard Horwitz
Bernhard Horwitz

Bernhard Horwitz was a Germany England chess master and chess writer.Horwitz was born in Neustrelitz, and went to school in Berlin, where he studied art....
 in 1851 and by Johann Berger
Johann Berger

Johann Nepomuk Berger was an Austrian chess master, theorist, endgame study composer, author and editor.In September 1870, he won the first tournament in the Austro-Hungarian Empire at Graz....
 in 1921. A very similar position occurred in the Korchnoi-Karpov game above , .

Greco


The theme is used in this 1623 composition by Gioachino Greco. Black draws:
1...Ra1+
2. Rf1 Rxf1+
3. Kxf1 Bh3!
and Black will sacrifice
Sacrifice (chess)

In the game of chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a Chess piece or Pawn in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms....
 his bishop for the g-pawn or transform it into an h-pawn after 4. gxh3 .

See also

  • Chess endgame
  • Wrong bishop
    Wrong bishop

    The wrong bishop is a situation in chess chess endgame when a bishop on the other color of square of the chessboard would either win a game instead of draw or salvage a draw from an inferior position ....