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Endgame Savvy: Bishop vs Rook - No Pawns

Endgame Savvy: Bishop vs Rook - No Pawns

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What endgames can appear in my actual games, and what is the easiest way to remember them? This is a very common question for most chess players. Memorizing a lot of moves isn't very helpful in endgames, since the position can always be slightly different from the one you have studied. Instead, the best approach is to combine knowledge of key themes with accurate calculation. In this post, I will show you the most practical way to draw with a bishop against a rook.

Okay, this seems really easy to draw (Even in a 2am online blitz game!), but how do we get there? It is actually as simple as following 2 rules:

  1. Move the king towards a corner square that is the opposite color of the bishop
  2. Keep the bishop where it can access the square next to the corner

Now for a starting position where the rook can win. As you can see, the king is on the edge of the board and can't reach the safe corner. The bishop is undefended, making it possible to combine threats to the undefended bishop with a series of checkmate threats. The bishop will be lost because of this lack of coordination.

If anyone is curious what would happen if the black king headed to the wrong color corner, see the diagram below:
Now that you have seen the key themes in this pawnless Bishop vs Rook endgame, you shouldn't have much difficulty finding the right moves to defend in your games. All it will take is a little simple calculation (3 moves deep at most). 
If there is a specific endgame you would like me to cover, let me know in the comments.