In a

chess endgame In chess and other similar games, the endgame (or end game or ending) is the stage of the game when few pieces are left on the board. The line between middlegame and endgame is often not clear, and may occur gradually or with the quick exchange o ...

, a wrong bishop is a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

that would have been better placed on the opposite square color; in other words, a bishop is unable to guard squares of the other color. This most commonly occurs with a bishop and one of its , but it also occurs with a

rook Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess *Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game Military * Sukhoi Su-25 or Rook, a close air support aircraft * USS ...

versus a bishop, a rook and one rook pawn versus a bishop, and possibly with a rook and one versus a bishop.

Rook versus bishop

White wins in this position. The defender has the wrong bishop if it is on the same color as the corner where his king is confined. Black's bishop is on the wrong color of square for it to form a

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in the corner (i.e. with the black

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

on the h8-square and the bishop on the g8- or h7-square). White wins: :1. Kf5! Kg8 :2. Ra4!! The only way to win. If 2.Kg6? Kf8 and the black king is able to get out of the "dangerous corner" or "wrong corner" and head to a "safe corner" or "right corner" where he can set up the fortress. :2... Be1 :3. Kg6 Kf8 :4. Rf4+!, followed by 5. Re4, winning.

Rook pawn

There are some situations involving a

rook pawn This glossary of chess explains commonly used terms in chess, in alphabetical order. Some of these terms have their own pages, like ''fork'' and ''pin''. For a list of unorthodox chess pieces, see Fairy chess piece; for a list of terms specific t ...

and the wrong bishop.

Bishop and rook pawn

In an endgame with a bishop and a rook pawn, the wrong bishop is one that does not control the

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

square of the pawn. This position is a draw with either side to move. Black simply keeps his king on the a8-, a7-, or b8-squares (or b7 if the pawn advances) to keep the pawn from promoting. A draw because of

stalemate Stalemate is a situation in the game of chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check and has no legal move. Stalemate results in a draw. During the endgame, stalemate is a resource that can enable the player with the inferior ...

is also possible. If the bishop were on the other color it could force the black

out of the corner and the pawn could promote and win.

Rook and rook pawn versus bishop

and a rook pawn always win against the wrong bishop, as in this position. The defender has the wrong bishop if it is the one on the same color as the pawn's promotion square. The winning procedure is to give up the

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pawn, Oregon, an his ...

at the right time to get to a winning rook versus bishop endgame. If the bishop was on the other color, the defender may be able to form a fortress in the corner, as mentioned above.

Rook and bishop pawn versus bishop

With a rook and a

bishop pawn This glossary of chess explains commonly used terms in chess, in alphabetical order. Some of these terms have their own pages, like ''fork'' and ''pin''. For a list of unorthodox chess pieces, see Fairy chess piece; for a list of terms specific t ...

on the sixth

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * H ...

versus a bishop, the bishop may be on the right color or the wrong color. In one case the rook and pawn win; in the other the bishop is able to draw. In this position Black is able to draw because his bishop is on the right color: :1... Be2 :2. Kf4 Bc4 :3. Kg5 Bd5! :4. Rc7 Ba2! :5. Kg6 Bb1+! :6. Kh6 Ba2! :7. Ra7 Bc4 and there is no way for White to make progress. This type of position was studied by

Ercole del Rio Domenico Ercole del Rio (c. 1718 – c. 1802) was an Italian lawyer and author. He published a 110-page chess book in 1750 which was the basis of a work by Giambattista Lolli thirteen years later. He composed many chess problems. He was ...

around 1750. This case is similar to the case with a rook pawn (above), which also may be a draw.

Examples from games

In this 1952 game between László Szabó and

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Mikhail Botvinnik Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, ( – May 5, 1995) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster. The sixth World Chess Champion, he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer scientist and was a pioneer in computer chess. Botvinnik ...

, Black was defending two pawns down – a position that would normally be a win for White. Botvinnik saw an opportunity to exchange his rook for a knight and two pawns and reach a drawn position (even without his pawn). The game continued: :51... Rxa5! :52. Nd7+ Bxd7 :53. Rxa5 Bxg4 :54. Ke3 Be6 :55. Kf4 Bc4 :56. Ra7 h5 :57. Kg5 h4 :58. Kxh4 Bb3 :59. Kg5 Bc4 and reached the second position, which had been analyzed as a draw. White was not able to make any progress. He promoted his pawn on move 76 and it was immediately captured by Black, resulting in a rook versus bishop endgame (see pawnless chess endings#Common pawnless endings (rook and minor pieces)) that was drawn two moves later. In this game between

Igor Miladinović Igor Miladinović ( sr-Cyrl, Игор Миладиновић; born 25 January 1974) is a Serbian chess grandmaster. Miladinović won the 1993 World Junior Chess Championship and at the end of the year was declared athlete of the Year in FR Yug ...

and

Alexander Beliavsky Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky (, ua, Олександр Генріхович Бєлявський, sl, Aleksander Henrikovič Beljavski; also romanized ''Belyavsky''; born December 17, 1953) is a Soviet, Ukrainian and Slovenian chess pl ...

, Black could have won by 99... Rxf3+, but instead played 99... gxf3?, reaching the theoretically-drawn position. :99... gxf3? :100. Bc5 Ke4 :101. Kf2 Rc3 :102. Ba7 Rc7 :103. Bb6 Rc2+ :104. Kf1 Rc6 (if 104...f2 then 105.Kg2! draws) :105. Ba7 Ra6 :106. Bc5 Kf4 :107. Bd4 Ra4 :108. Bc5 Rc4 :109. Ba7 Rb4 :110. Bc5 The game was drawn on move 127.

Rook and pawn versus bishop and pawn

In this type of position when the pawns are facing each other and blocked, the result often depends on which color the bishop is on. If the bishop is on the same color as its pawn, the rook almost always wins. If the bishop is on the color of the opposing pawn it has good drawing chances.

References

Bibliography * * * * * * * * *