Opposite Coloured Bishops: Playing Against Connected Pawns
Most club players are aware that opposite bishop endings have very high drawing tendencies, and that even if the pawns are connected, B + 2p vs B is a theoretical draw. However, they often think that holding the fort is trivial and hence there is no need to study this position further. As a result, they falter in praxis, costing them many half points. Hence, in this week's article, I would like to show you the drawing and winning methods when it comes to such endings.
Before I begin, there is one very important thing to note: If the attacker has all of his pawns on the same colour complex as his own bishop, the draw becomes obvious.
A quick analysis of the following position will help you understand this rule better.
Evidently, black cannot push his pawns any further. This is because white has 2 pieces controlling the squares in front of the pawn whereas black can maximally have only one piece (i.e. his king) controlling those squares. Had some of the pawns been on light squares, they could support one another to make progress.
Let's start with a simple question. It is black to play, which critical square does he need to control?
Answer: e6. White's immediate threat is to play e5-e6, followed by Ke5, f5-f6. Further controlling e6 with the bishop allows black to meet e6 with Bxe6.
Now, here is the crux of the problem: Should black control e6 with Bb3 or Bd7? Or does it not matter which move he plays? Play through the puzzle once you believe you have everything worked out.
The draw is clear after 2...Kf7 as black only needs to wait with Bd7 and Bc8. The point is that white can't play f6 (because that is putting all his pawns on the same colour as his bishop) or e6. The king is also unable to make progress as he is tied down to the defence of the f5 pawn.
Let's move on to the challenging part: How does white punish Bb3? As always, I recommend that you take some time to solve this.
The solution:
As the defender, it is crucial that you achieve your defensive setup as soon as possible. Otherwise, when the pawns reach the sixth rank, the position is lost.
