Is it possible to checkmate with a bishop and a king

There is no way to position a king and a bishop to create a checkmate position. However, pair a bishop with a knight, a bishop of an opposing color square, a rook or a queen and you can create checkmate. Though, it may be very challenging to force checkmate with some of these combinations particularly using a bishop or a knight as a partner and it can be worth rehearsing the moves required prior to taking part in tournaments or risk accepting a draw when the game could have been won.

About The Author. Giovanni Di Luca. Is the Daily games view going away? Ziryab 5 min ago. Gibbilo 8 min ago. Why does society hate chess? DefenderPug2 8 min ago. Ant-London Revolution Optimissed 13 min ago. New: DGT for Chess. Blitz Help! ChesswithNickolay 18 min ago. One of the dangers is that a draw may result due to the 50 move rule see How Games are Drawn.

Checkmate possibilities. Two knights cannot force checkmate, but three knights can. Although there are checkmate positions with two knights against a king, they cannot be forced.

You learn your first pawn endgame notions. Two Knights cannot checkmate a lone King. No position exists where a checkmate happens with merely a light piece and King vs King. Here's a quick guide to what combinations of chess pieces you can and cannot use to checkmate an enemy king when you are down to just two or three of your pieces versus a lone king.

Or, you may be the one with the lone king and this will let you know that a draw should be declared. With two to three pieces left, here is when you have the possibility of checkmate and when it is a draw. The stronger side has two or more pieces, while the weaker side has only a king:. Of course, many checkmates take place with much more material on the board than these situations. The best use of this information is twofold. First, it can stop you from continuing on in hopeless situations: if you are down to a king and bishop versus an enemy king, for instance, it is time to start a new game.

Secondly, it helps to know what endgames you can head towards that will be winning when you have a material advantage.