Chess lessons › Chess strategy
Defending a worse position
When you are worse, look for a drawn ending: bishops of opposite colours, or a fortress.
The idea
When worse, trade into a drawn ending or build a fortress.
- White is two pawns down, but the rooks can be traded on d5.
- After Rxd5 Bxd5, Black’s bishop runs on light squares only.
- White’s bishop holds the dark squares, and the ending is a draw.
In a game: When you are worse, look for trades that leave bishops of opposite colours.
How the lesson begins
Every player has to defend worse positions. Two ideas save many of them. Look for an ending that is a draw even with less material. And when you cannot win material back, build a fortress, a position your opponent cannot break into.
Here White is two pawns down, with a rook and a bishop each. White’s bishop runs on dark squares, Black’s on light squares.
Find the move
White to move. Find the trade that saves the game.
A hint
Which pair of pieces can you trade, so that only the bishops are left?
Show the answer
1. Rxd5 Bxd5
Rxd5 Bxd5 leaves bishops of opposite colours: one runs on light squares, the other on dark squares. The tablebase says this ending is a draw, two pawns down. Black’s bishop can never attack White’s bishop or the dark squares it guards, so White’s king and bishop can hold the pawns back. It is the engine’s first choice.