A minor piece endgame is one where the only pieces left besides kings and pawns are bishops and knights. A lone bishop or knight cannot mate, so the pawns decide.
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The pattern to know first is the wrong bishop. A rook's pawn with a bishop that does not control the promotion square is a draw if the defending king reaches the corner.
How to do it
- 1Before trading, compare the colour of the promotion square with the colour of your bishop.
- 2Bring your king to the pawns first; it does most of the work here.
- 3Plan knight routes in advance, because a knight cannot lose a move.
For your level
Before trading into a bishop and rook's pawn ending, check the colour of the promotion square. If your bishop cannot cover it, a defending king in the corner draws.
Check you have it
Pitch it for:
Question 1 of 2
Play the moves through. How does the game end?
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Question 2 of 2
Which white pawn has no friendly pawn on either neighbouring file?
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Common mistakes
- Trading into a bishop and rook's pawn ending without checking the colour of the corner.
- Leaving the king back and expecting the minor piece to do the work.
Questions
- Is a bishop better than a knight in the endgame?
- Usually, with pawns on both sides of the board, because the bishop covers both at once. With all the pawns on one side, the knight is often just as good.
- Can a bishop or a knight checkmate on its own?
- No. King and bishop against king, or king and knight against king, is a draw. No checkmate position exists with only those pieces.