The Bishop: Danger on the Diagonal

by Sergey Kasparov

Overview

The Power of the Pieces In his new, ground-breaking series, The Power of the Pieces, Belorussian grandmaster Sergey Kasparov examines the strengths, weaknesses and overall characteristics of each piece on the chessboard. This first volume in the series is about the bishop. Its role in the opening, middlegame and endgame is discussed in detail, amply supported by over 140 examples from tournament praxis. Topics include: Bishops of the Same Color; Opposite-Color Bishops; Bishop vs. Knight; Bishop vs. Rook; Two Bishops vs. Knight and Bishop; Bishop vs. Pawns; The King’s Indian Bishop; The French Bishop; The Nimzo-Indian Bishop; The Fianchetto on g2; The Stonewall Bishop; The Advantage of the Two Bishops; The “Bad” Bishop; The Attacking Bishop; and Opposite-color Bishops in the Middlegame. Popular chess author Sergey Kasparov is known for his entertaining writing style. His books are always instructive and insightful. Books previously published by Russell Enterprises include The Exchange Sacrifice and Doubled Pawns.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780692035238
Publisher:	Russell Enterprises, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/17/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	36 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Popular chess author Sergey Kasparov is known for his entertaining writing style. His books are always instructive and insightful. Books previously published by Russell Enterprises include The Exchange Sacrifice and Doubled Pawns.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 5

Two Bishops vs. Knight and Bishop

Now we're going to explain about the power the two bishops have in the endgame. We will explain later on the two bishops with a greater number of pieces on the board. For now, we shall examine those endgames where there is not a lot of material left on the board. In those endgames, the bishops are especially dangerous, since they have room to maneuver – which makes them fatally destructive.

The following fragment, from our national championship, is quite instructive. To begin with, White had no weaknesses: his entire “fault” lay in the fact that knights are weaker than bishops. I was gradually able to break down my opponent's defenses. It is too bad that, owing to a small inaccuracy, I missed the logical finishing touch that would have led to victory.

(56) Kochetkov – S.Kasparov
Minsk 1996
31.Kd2 (Diagram)

This game was played more than 20 years ago, against a future Byelorussian champion. An endgame that is quite pleasant for Black has come about; for here, the bishops are considerably more powerful. Let's remember that knights love support points; and yet here, there are none.

31...Bc4 32.Ncd1 Kd6 33.Ke1 Be6 34.Ke2 Bg5 35.b4 Bd8 36.Kd3 Bb6 37.c4 (Diagram)

37...Bd4

37...c5!?, trying to open up the game, looks logical; but I did not like to weaken the d5-square. On the other hand, it would not be a good idea to play 38.Nd5? right away (38.Kc3 was better): 38...bxc4+ 39.Kxc4 cxb4 40.axb4 Bd4o
(Diagram)

White's knights and king are paralyzed.

38.c5+ Ke7 39.h4 Kf6 40.g3 (Diagram)

Quite reasonably, German tries to close up the position as much as he can, lest my king get in. Practically speaking, Black has only his bishops left to play with.

40...a5

Good idea. The pawn advances to a4, after which the a3-pawn will be a permanent weakness.

41.Nc3 41.bxa5? Bxc5u 41...a4 42.Ncd1 Bg8 43.Nc3 Bh7 44.Ne2 Bb2 45.Nc2 Bg8 46.Kd2 g5 47.Nc3 (Diagram)

The moment of truth.

47...gxh4?

I decided that first, I would solidify the situation kingside and then, I would bring my bishop in to b3 – when in fact, 47...Bb3 48.Nd1 would have won right off (or 48.Kd3 Bc1 49.Nb1 Bxc2+ 50.Kxc2 Be3o).
(Diagram)

His pawns are weak on both wings, because they are fixed on dark squares: 48...Bxc2 49.Kxc2 Bxa3 50.Kc3 Bc1o. We should not forget that the pawns at g3 and h4 are also accessible to the bishop.

48.gxh4 Bb3 49.Nb1 Be6

Now 49...Bxc2, as in the above-cited variation, has no prospects: 50.Kxc2 Bd4 51.Nd2 Bf2 52.Nf3=,

Table of Contents

Introduction 5

Part I The Endgame

Chapter 1 Bishops of the Same Color 7

Chapter 2 Opposite-Color Bishops 26

Chapter 3 Bishop vs. Knight 36

Section 1 Bishop Stronger Than Knight 36

Section 2 Knight Stronger Than Bishop 47

Chapter 4 Bishop vs. Rook 58

Chapter 5 Two Bishops vs. Knight and Bishop 72

Chapter 6 Bishop vs. Pawns 87

Part II The Opening

Chapter 7 The King's Indian Bishop 96

Section 1 Pawn at e5 96

Section 2 Pawn at c5 106

Chapter 8 The French Bishop 117

Chapter 9 The Nimzo-Indian Bishop 133

Chapter 10 The Fianchetto on g2 144

Chapter 11 The Stonewall Bishop 167

Part III The Middlegame

Chapter 12 The Advantage of the Two Bishops 176

Chapter 13 The "Bad" Bishop 202

Chapter 14 The Attacking Bishop 222

Chapter 15 Opposite-color Bishops in the Middlegame 227

Postscript 246

Game Index 246