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Secrets of Trapping Pieces: Bishop Dominated by Rook + Pawn

KevinSmithIdiot

Updated: Feb 18, 2024, 5:23 PM | 0

I've spent much of the last ten months considering the question of trapped pieces. It all started because I noticed in last year's rapid games that I had been trapping a lot of Queens. And throughout my chess life, it certainly wasn't a career, I encountered analyses of the games of top players where they talked about, "...and their Queen is trapped in the middle of the board." So, it all started with Her, aka Her Majesty, Sovereign of All She Surveys, most powerful piece on the board, yada, yada, yada. Blame Her for my blogs. And for my book. She was my inspiration, even if also my despair. How like life.

And then, of course, it moved to His Majesty. A bit of a problem that. How do you distinguish between mere tactics and entrapment? But we're not here to talk about Him today either.

Eventually I started thinking about the clergy. The board's pair of one-sided ecclesiastical emissaries who firmly take a stance on one color and refuse to change it for the duration of the game. All the other pieces are confined to the 64 squares of the board for the duration (in theory a pawn can promote and then reach all 64), but these poor religious souls only get to view half the board. And that half is often obscured by their own pawns, little bits with an occasional desire to emulate mini-Bishops and travel diagonally. But even those little beggars get to shift colors like a leopard shifting spots. And as for the enemy pawns! Half the time they make for fine targets. After all, administering final rites is part of the clerical description. But at other times they form confounding walls that hinder the desire to spread the good word in support of Our Majesty. URGH!! Happens all the time and often in manifestly unjust ways. The number of times a good piece of religious wood has found it necessary to throw themselves against a den of pawns to clear the way for others. But I digress...or sermonize...and it is Saturday, not Sunday.

Fortunately, we're not here today to talk about those confounding would-be Queens. You can explore that in my five-part series starting with Secrets of Trapping Pieces--Bishop Dominated by Pawns Part 1 of 5 - Chess.com.

New month, new topic! So, we'll explore an area I was vaguely aware of but prior to this year I had not dedicated any little gray cells (Hercule Poirot anyone?) to considering, let alone understanding. The topic? A Bishop trapped, or perhaps not, by a Rook and Pawn. As seen below. With a board stripped of all other pieces in order to get down to a bare-bones discussion of some key features.

Right-Hand Side

Key Squares: h6, g5, g7, f8

The most common configuration is for the Rook to be behind the pawn. This leaves all the Bishop's flight squares covered by the Rook. That said, if the Rook moves to attack the Bishop it will free up one of the Bishop's would-be, could-be flight squares that the Rook initially covered. So, it requires the intervention of another piece for the Bishop to be hunted down and laid to final rest for that eternity between games.

A simple change that drastically alters this scenario: Place a Black pawn on h7 and a White pawn on h5 and the Bishop is often far more secure in the confines of that very small chamber. The reason? No attacks against the Bishop from g6 or along the h-file.

Left-Hand Side

Key Squares: a6, b5, b5, c8

The Most Important Point: Clearly there has to be a Black piece controlling the b7 square or the Bishop would just go to b7 and flee. But such configurations show up in practice, so it is useful to be aware that the possibility exists to trap a Bishop with a Rook protecting the pawn from the side.

Some specific considerations regarding the Rook on c5:

A. The Rook may be somewhat exposed to attack on c5 (or the corresponding squares in the other three corners of the board for the comparable configurations.)

B. The Rook may be more actively placed on c5 than a Rook placed behind the pawn.

To the puzzles! For study purposes you might want to take some mental or other notes on how you would assess the position. Both before starting the puzzle and afterwards. Nothing too deep, just some key points. Then compare your thoughts to my notes. I offer very brief notes both within the puzzle itself and after each puzzle. And from my side I also offer nothing too deep, just some key points as I see them.

Asharin,A - Chigorin,M Best Russian Players 08.01.1879

Black just played 20... Bxh3, an uber-aggressive strike intent on disrupting the White King's hearth and home.

In accordance with the configurations of interest in this section, how should White proceed?

Assessment:

A. The final diagram demonstrates our common trapped configuration of interest with a Rook on b1/g1/g1/g5, their own pawn on b4/g4/ g5/b5 and an enemy Bishop trapped on a3/h3/h6/g4.

B. Black's predicament: They are in quite the pickle. This is made more extreme by the fact White's Queen is poised to remove the invader.

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. Sometimes a player can decide that self-entrapment of the Bishop is good. Other times... that doesn't work out so well. Here, Black chose self-entrapment poorly.

Outcome: Chigorin went on to win, a travesty of chess logic. But these things happen.

Kuzmin,G (2545) - Sveshnikov,E (2525) Yerevan zt (4) 1982 #1

Black just captured a stray Knight on a3 and is up a piece at the moment.

This should be easy. How does White restore the material balance and even claim a slight edge?

Assessment: By temporarily sacrificing a piece White has trapped and will now remove Black's best piece, and the piece best situated for defending Black's dark squares.

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. Time does not stand still. White's play must be forthright, or Black will play ...a5 and rescue the trapped Bishop.

B. Note the critical role played by the f1 Rook, controlling the KEY c1 square to where the Bishop on a3 would flee if able.

Kuzmin,G (2545) - Sveshnikov,E (2525) Yerevan zt (4) 1982 #2

Black just played 18...Bxb2 with double attack.

Is this a deflating moment for White? Or did they have something in mind? It certainly appears White is losing material.

How did White proceed?

We are continuing to build on the prior puzzle. Why? Learning in small chunks and through repetition works for me so you are stuck with my approach if you choose to work through all the problems in this blog!

Outcome: Wait! We already covered that piece of the discussion in the prior puzzle. Got it!! Black's best piece goes away.

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. Familiarity with patterns allows you to find new plans. And certainly, to consider new reactions to what might otherwise seem devastating double attacks. Probably it is counterintuitive to sacrifice one piece in order to trap another piece. At least it was for me, particularly in such a context. Though if you've looked at enough of these configurations of trapping a Bishop with Rook and Pawn it quickly seems quite natural. Or I thought so. After looking at over a hundred examples. It takes a while for thinks to sink in with me.

Kuzmin,G 2545 - Sveshnikov,E 2525 Yerevan zt 1982 #3

We're back! Time for another bite at the apple. Not from the tree of wisdom. Probably a crabapple based on my personality.

A rather frequently reached position. In my online DB I found 483 games, including nine games occurring above the 2700 FIDE level as Black.

Assessment: Nope hasn't changed. Won't force you to read the assessment again. You can scroll back if you insist on reading it again.

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. Familiarity breeds content. How much more contented could one be than to throw this idea at their greatest rival who hasn't studied the same material you did?

B. Remove the enemy's best piece.

C. Identifying an enemy's potential weakness, in this case their dark squares, can lead one to extraordinary measures to emphasize that weakness.

Schwan,W Schuster Barmen Tombola 20.08.1905 #1

Black just played 19...g6 seeking to boost the White Knight from that lovely outpost on f5. At the same time Black set up a typical trap.

Should White step into the trap? And if so, how should they step?

Assessment: White has too much play on the f-file and Black has no ready means for attacking the Bishop because of that.

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. Self-entrapment! White no doubt saw that his Bishop would be trapped and gladly stepped into the trap anyway! Good eye!!

B. Pieces can be trapped, but that doesn't mean the side that trapped a piece is winning. They might even be much worse.

Outcome: White missed some opportunities, but they were difficult to see. Eventually White lost the bubble and then the game.

Schwan,W Schuster Barmen Tombola 20.08.1905 #2

We visited this game in the prior puzzle. Play has continued apace, and the White Bishop remains firmly planted on h6.

On a positive note, it does serve to control the f8 square, preventing Black from contesting control of White's Rooks on the only open file.

White just played 25.Na4. Black had a chance to secure a much better game but missed that chance and played 25...c5 instead. Clearly intending to forestall any White thoughts of d3-d4.

Can you do better than Black did in this game?

Assessment: The demise of the Bishop on h6 is imminent. Black currently controls all entry points on the f-file.

Key squares (some discussion follows below): c5, f8, g5, g6.

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. By overprotecting the key f8 square there is now a genuine threat to place the Rook on g6. Black transforms a trapped piece into material gain.

B. From e7 the Queen also provides extra support to the c5 square. There are times when Black might like to advance the c6 pawn, but without extra support from Her Majesty there would be a risk of the White Knight sacrificing itself on c5 to win two pawns and place the White Queen in close proximity to Black's King.

C. Quiet moves are a necessary tool for everyone who moves up in the ranks.

Schwan,W Schuster Barmen Tombola 20.08.1905 #3

This is one of those traps that very frequently allows for three results, all in equal likelihood. Specifics count in these positions. For instance, here a key aspect is the limited mobility of Black's Bishop.

Assessment: The h6 Bishop is safe as White controls the key g6 and f8 squares. And Black's Bishop is in a similarly small box.

Bottom line: The Bishop on h6 was proven to be more secure than a mere glimpse might have judged.

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. Seek counterplay elsewhere.

B. Create equal or greater threats.

C. If your opponent has pieces with limited scope then seek to take advantage of that. Black has yet to demonstrate that White's Bishop can be taken advantage of. But White's 23.Nd5! clearly exploited the shallow range of Black's Bishop, despite its apparent centralization.

D. Do NOT play passively.

Schwan,W Schuster Barmen Tombola 20.08.1905 #4

We continue to investigate possible lines in this early 20th century game. Black just captured a Rook on f7.

Assessment: White has a Queen plus two Pawns for the pair of Rooks. But White's Bishop on h6 cannot move and is about to be swarmed by either Black's King or Rook.

What is White's series of moves to retain a decisive advantage?

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. A trapped piece is not necessarily lost. In this case Black's pieces were uncoordinated and the weak light squares made it easy for Her Majesty to penetrate.

B. Expeditious action is necessary if the trapped Bishop is about to be snapped off.

Schwan,W Schuster Barmen Tombola 20.08.1905 #5

White missed 23.Nd5!! in the game. What happens if Black captures that Knight with 23...cxd5, as seen in this starting position. The first White move is easy. And the last part of this puzzle was seen previously. Can you put all that information together and find the solution at the first go?

Outcome: As previously discussed, the Bishop escapes and grabs the g-pawn in passing as compensation for time served. Unfairly caged, as the Bishop would proclaim.

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. Create threats and find counterplay elsewhere. White was able to place his Knight on the strong d5 square, however momentarily, because Black's e6 Bishop had no flight squares.

B. Black's King still being in the center certainly contributed to Black's difficulties.

C. Domination of an open file amplified White's advantages. Despite being "down" a trapped Bishop that remained quite effective by controlling the key f8 square!

Secrets of Trapping Pieces: Bishop Dominated by Rook + Pawn

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