In chess

Chess

Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

 endgames with a bishop

Bishop (chess)

A bishop is a 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 most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces...

 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 board game chess, and consists of 64 squares arranged in two alternating colors...

 on which the pawn would promote

Promotion (chess)

Promotion is a chess rule 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 color . The new piece replaces the pawn on the same square and is part of the move. Promotion is not limited to pieces that have...

. 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

Wrong bishop

The wrong bishop is a situation in 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...

, 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 when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, 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.For the most part,...

, 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 chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a piece in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms. A sacrifice could also be a deliberate exchange of a chess piece of higher value for an opponent's piece of lower value....

.

In some endgames such as having a bishop and pawn versus a lone king

King (chess)

In chess, the king is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that its escape is not possible . If a player's king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If this cannot be...

 (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...

 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 piece in the strategy board game of chess. Formerly the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes...

 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 piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that its escape is not possible . If a player's king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If this cannot be...

 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 when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, 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.For the most part,...

 because of a fortress

Fortress (chess)

In chess, the fortress is an endgame drawing technique in which the side behind in material sets up a zone of protection around their king that cannot be penetrated by the opponent. This only works when the opponent does not have a passed pawn or cannot create one, unless that pawn can be stopped...

 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 rule 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 color . The new piece replaces the pawn on the same square and is part of the move. Promotion is not limited to pieces that have...

 . 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.-Biography:...

, 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 .

Goglidze versus Kasparian

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

Genrikh Gasparyan

Genrikh Kasparyan is considered to have been one of the greatest composers of chess endgame studies. Outside Armenia, he is better known by the Russian version of his name Genrikh Moiseyevich Kasparyan or Kasparian ....

, Black uses the tactic of offering the sacrifice

Sacrifice (chess)

In chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a piece in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms. A sacrifice could also be a deliberate exchange of a chess piece of higher value for an opponent's piece of lower value....

 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 versus 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. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....

 Candidate's Match

Candidates Tournament

The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, 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 American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...

 and Mark Taimanov

Mark Taimanov

Mark Evgenievich Taimanov is a leading Soviet and Russian chess player and concert pianist.-Chess: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. From 1946 to 1956, he was among the world's top...

, 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

½-½

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.)

Ķeņģis vs. Kasparov

Ten-year-old Garry Kasparov

Garry Kasparov

Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....

 thought that he was winning this game as Black against Edvīns Ķeņģis

Edvins Kengis

Edvins Kengis is a Latvian chess Grandmaster.Kengis is an eight-time Latvian Champion, winning the national contest in 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1997, 2004 and 2005...

, being two pawns ahead. Indeed, Black can win the white bishop (for two pawns), but then the game is a draw because of the wrong rook pawn. In the actual game, Black moved 48...Kh3 and the game was drawn after move 54. (No progress can be made with the bishops on opposite colors, see opposite-colored bishop endgame.) In an alternative line, Black can win the white bishop:

48...f4+

49.Bxf4 d2

50. Kxd2 Kxf4

but the position is drawn because the black rook pawn is on the wrong file for the bishop to help promote it .

Karpov versus Kasparov

Garry Kasparov

Garry Kasparov

Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....

 used sacrifices to leave Anatoly Karpov

Anatoly Karpov

Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...

 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, to become the thirteenth and youngest world champion at the age of 22.-Background:...

, 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

½-½

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. The relevant portion of the FIDE laws of chess is article 9.1...

 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 versus 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.- Qualification :...

 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. A stalemate ends the game in a draw. Stalemate is covered in the rules of chess....

 on move 124 (see Stalemate#Korchnoi-Karpov 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.)

An exception

In this position White wins because he is able to force the exchange of pawns to get his pawn on the b-file.

1. Be3 Kb8

2. Bd4 Ka8

3. Kc8

and checkmate

Checkmate

Checkmate is a situation in chess in which one player's king is threatened with capture and there is no way to meet that threat. Or, simply put, the king is under direct attack and cannot avoid being captured...

 in two more moves. If Black did not have his rook pawn, he could draw by 3... b5 .

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 piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that its escape is not possible . If a player's king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If this cannot be...

 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 chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a piece in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms. A sacrifice could also be a deliberate exchange of a chess piece of higher value for an opponent's piece of lower value....

 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 files, 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 pawn chain, a chain where the one behind...

 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 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 chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a piece in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms. A sacrifice could also be a deliberate exchange of a chess piece of higher value for an opponent's piece of lower value....

 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 piece in the strategy board game of chess. Formerly the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes...

 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)

½-½

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 . 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 Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...

 and Karel Hromádka

Karel Hromádka

Karel Hromádka was a Czech chess player, two-time Czech champion, 1913 and 1921 ....

, 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! ½-½ .

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...

 by Vsevolod Rauzer

Vsevolod Rauzer

Vsevolod Rauzer is probably best known for his extensive chess opening theory. The Richter–Rauzer Variation of the Sicilian Defence , was named in honor of him and the German master Kurt Richter....

, 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 German chess master and chess composer. In 1851 he wrote Chess Studies with Bernhard Horwitz.-External links:* at Chessgames.com...

 and Bernhard Horwitz

Bernhard Horwitz

Bernhard Horwitz was a German English chess master and chess writer.Horwitz was born in Neustrelitz, and went to school in Berlin, where he studied art. From 1837 to 1843, he was part of a group of German chess players known as "The Pleiades".He moved to London in 1845...

 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 chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a piece in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms. A sacrifice could also be a deliberate exchange of a chess piece of higher value for an opponent's piece of lower value....

his bishop for the g-pawn or transform it into an h-pawn after 4. gxh3 .