Bishop Funerary

Secrets of Trapping Pieces: Bishop Dominated by Pawns Part 2 of 5

KevinSmithIdiot

Updated: Oct 15, 2024, 7:06 AM | 0

I'll presume everyone has played enough to have trapped a Bishop with pawns, or had a Bishop trapped by pawns. But there is quite a variety of traps that Bishops can fall into--and the defender may have ways to make those traps partially or fully ineffective.

"Some General Observations" were presented in Part 1. I won't repeat that material here for the sake of brevity, merely point to it. Secrets of Trapping Pieces--Bishop Dominated by Pawns Part 1 - Chess.com

CRITICAL POINT that bears repeating: Just because a piece is trapped, does not mean you are necessarily winning or losing. It's just one feature of the game.

And we'll switch up the order a bit, presenting the new configurations of Bishops trapped by pawns. Wouldn't want anyone to think there might be a bait and switch involved and that I was merely repeating Part I under a slightly altered guise.

I'll start with some observations on the few standard configurations shown above that find Bishops trapped or about to be trapped. Followed by some puzzles related to those configurations.

KEY POINT: These are quite generic configurations. There could quite well be other pawns or pieces on squares in each of the quadrants depicted. However, these specific configurations are what I deemed the most salient features after examining several hundred games. The location of other pawns and pieces varied substantially in the games I considered. By focusing on the 'standard' features I believe one is then able to apply that knowledge to the broader assortment of in-game positions one is likely to encounter.

WARNING: There will always be outliers. This information is to simplify chess life in general, not to solve every specific problem related to the entrapment or freeing of Bishops that find themselves corralled by pawns.

Upper Right-Hand Corner

A generic issue. Black's dark squares are weak. That may offer an opening for White pieces to flood the zone.

How might this configuration have happened--some sample scenarios.

A. White grabbed a pawn on h7.

B. White exchanged a set of pieces, frequently Knights, on h7. Then Garrulous Garry, gatekeeper g-pawn, gratefully closed the gate.

How might the Bishop's time on this board end?

A. A Black Knight on f8 or g5, a Black Rook or Queen on the h-file, or the Black King on g7, h8 or h6 might seek to terminate His Eminence on h7.

B. Quite frequently White would be found pushing an h-pawn to h5 and conducting exchanges on g6 to free the Bishop before the enemy could come to close quarters with overwhelming force.

C. White might defend the closeted cleric with a Knight on f6 or g5, or a major piece on the h-file.

D. Sacrifices on g6 are an option, particularly if the Black King is hovering in the area. Destroying the castle walls, also known as the bailey or keep, is a standard way to begin the extravagant eviction and ending of another Sovereign who failed to maintain a solid pawn structure.

Lower Right-Hand Corner

NOTE 1: In this instance the pawns on e6 and g6 are considered part of the configuration--serving dual purposes for both right-hand quadrants of the board!

NOTE 2: The e6 and g6 pawns might be Black Knights or even major pieces for the purposes of the lower right-hand corner discussion.

An observation. Black's Bishop is confined both by the White pawns before it and the Black pawns behind it. In some instances, other Black pieces might be on g6 and e6, acting as unfortunate blockaders for their own side. As depicted here the Black pawns have some mobility, but insufficient time to skedaddle before the Bishop is dragged down by the White horde before him. However, were the Black Bishop already on h5 (merely fearing the advance of White's g-pawn), then if it was Black's move there would be time for Black's g-pawn to advance to g5, clearing a safe spot on g6.

How might this configuration have happened--some sample scenarios.

A. A set of pieces were exchanged on g5 and White was then able to play e4 with a credible threat to some Black piece. After defusing the first dangerous scenario Black was then unable to adequately address the movement of a White pawn to f3.

B. If we picture a Black Knight, Rook or Queen on e6, instead of a pawn, then it is possible the light-squared Bishop was on f5 and unable to avert the moves e4 and f3.

Lower Left-Hand Corner

General observation. This type of position occurs with great frequency, and across the breadth and depth of the board. Except, obviously, for the first or second rank of the Bishop's color, since no Black pawns could dodge behind the Ecclesiastical one to block retreat.

Specific observation. The Black pawns block retreat. And it is not uncommon to encounter positions where the Black pawns find it difficult (material loss) or impossible (blockaded) to advance and grant an exit to the Bishop.

How might this have happened?

A. Voluntarily, in many cases I encountered. The idea is to allow the opponent to capture the piece and open lines in return. Usually against the monarch.

We now dip our toes into one of the most famous self-entrapments of all time. Fischer just captured the pawn on h2. Certainly, he must have thought he could extract the cleric by a timely push of the Black h-pawn.

So, time to establish one of those standard configurations. What's your immediate reaction as White?

No lesson presented here, just an observation. Black did push the h-pawn in an attempt to extract the Bishop--a VERY standard idea one has to be aware of on both sides of such positions. White was able to bring the King over in time and win the Bishop. But Black still managed to reach a defensible endgame down a piece. But who can play like a computer? If Fischer couldn't I certainly would not hold my breath thinking I could.

Black just played 17...g5 and now the White Bishop has no flight squares. White has several options for getting out of this trapped Bishop situation, but move order is critical. What should White play?

Outcome: The position is equal. Both sides have some issues to deal with, so the outcome is still in the air. White's Knights aren't lighting up the board and Black still has a Rook stuck in the corner, some unpleasant pressure against b7, and a rather open King due to that awkward Kingside pawn structure.

In the position below Black played 17...g5 and the White Bishop had no flight squares. White had several options for getting out of this trapped Bishop situation, but move order is critical. In the game White played 18.e4. Attacks a piece of equal value and that Knight cannot flee because of the pin along the b3-g8 diagonal.

How should Black proceed?

Outcome: Black remains better. Or so the computers say. But what happens if White grabs that juicer on b7? We look at that next. But there are no trapped pieces remaining you note. In my opinion, it is important to understand what happens after a trap is no longer in place.

In the last puzzle we saw how correct play by both sides would have taken us to this position where White's trapped Bishop was traded for the pinned Knight on d5 with best play by White. We are no longer in the realm of trapped Bishops, BUT this is a good time to examine best play in the game after White played the obvious 20.Qxb7.
As a footnote, 20.Rc5 or even 20.Rcd!? were better choices.

Outcome: Now that is a nasty discovery. Black gains a decisive advantage. White resigned before making move 47.

In our next puzzle Black should have focused on Kingside activity and continued with 17...g4. Instead Black was lured by the siren song of entrapping the a7 Bishop and played 17...b6?

How did White proceed?

Outcome: It is quite clear White is making remarkable progress on the Queenside while Black's attack on the Kingside is in full stall mode. White's a7 Bishop has a guardian and both Black's b-pawns will be targets after 19... cxb6.

It's an interesting observation that when the position has slowed down a bit, players are likely to let down their guard. Or perhaps it was just a stray neuron firing at an inconvenient moment for Svidler who just played 18...e6. There are some pluses to the move. It opened a diagonal for Her Majesty, forestalled any notions of e5-e6, and locked down solid support for the d5 pawn.

How did White respond? Other than gleefully, perhaps accompanied by a bit of "What...?"

Observation: If Pawn is Pawn, then Bishop is a double shot of gobsmacking goodness.

Lessons learned: Even extremely strong GMs make mistakes. But punishing those mistakes still requires decisive action.

What happens if White does not retreat the Bishop on move 21, but instead advances the King to g2. The idea is that the King defends the Bishop and the Bishop provides extra support to the g4 pawn. Difficult.

Outcome: Black slips a bit further downhill. Now White is only clearly better. A few more moves like this and Black will have real chances.

Lesson learned: Proof once again that immediately grabbing material is not always the best way forward.

Black just played 5...Bb4+, a move that has been seen eight times as of 25.05.2023. How should White respond? HARD!

Assessment: That first move? Yeah. You only find that move if you realize that Black's d5 Knight has no good flight squares because both the d5-Knight and the b4-Bishop will be looking to land on the e7 square.

We start with the same initial position as the previous puzzle. Simply to reinforce the neural track for White's brilliant first move. Then we will ask you to respond to a different Black move.

Outcome: This position is even worse than the game line.

Same text as the previous text, When Black changes moves, what is next?

Outcome: White is simply winning.

Lessons learned:

A. It is quite easy to be distracted on move seven, particularly if you are uncomfortable having His Majesty on e2.

B. In hyper-bullet one might even push the a-pawn reflexively a move too early.

C. All those quibbles aside, the natural reaction should be to take a cheap shot at the b6 Knight that ALSO shuts down the c5-f8 diagonal. Thereby denying His Worshipfullness access to sanctuary on e7 or f8.

Secrets of Trapping Pieces: Bishop Dominated by Pawns Part 2 of 5

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