The Bishop Pair - Principles of Chess Middle Games

“That's what chess is all about. One day you give your opponent a lesson, the next day he gives you one.”
-Bobby Fischer

Hello guys, Welcome back to this series where we discuss the middle games concept. If you are new here, we have already discussed on the topics,
Blockade & Restriction ( https://www.chess.com/blog/siddharth026/blockade-restriction-principles-of-chess-middle-games )
Greek Gift sacrifice ( https://www.chess.com/blog/siddharth026/greek-gift-sacrifice-principles-of-chess-middle-games )
Opposite Side Castling ( https://www.chess.com/blog/siddharth026/opposite-side-castling-principles-of-chess-middle-games )
Weak Square & Outpost ( https://www.chess.com/blog/siddharth026/weak-square-outpost-principles-of-chess-middle-games  )

Today, We will discuss one of the most controversial topics about the bishop pair. Many people favour Knights, So do many recommend the bishops. You may be on any side. In today's blog, we are going to talk about the bishop pair. 
Let's get straight into the contents,

The Bishop Pair-

In modern chess, the bishop pair has been established as a positional advantage in most cases. In today’s chess, the importance given to this element has increased to the point that in some of the most popular opening variations, the main goal has become gaining the bishop pair. Similarly, hyper-modern openings are made to maintain the bishop for long-term advantage. Examples of such openings are,

Modern defence

Double fianchetto system 

Hippo system

concepts that you should know when playing with the bishop pair-

• When fighting with the two bishops against the bishop and knight, we place the pawns on the same colour as our opponent’s bishop. This way, we reduce the mobility of this piece;
  
• In the endgame, it will always be difficult for the side playing against the bishop pair to bring his king to the centre, as it will run into annoying checks or even mate threats;
  
• We should always keep in mind that, Once a bigger advantage is obtained, We can trade one of the bishops, turning the position into a simple winning endgame;
  
• When there are rooks on the board, it is useful to trade one rook in order to reduce our opponent’s defensive resources. 
  
• This combination of rook + two bishops works very efficiently together;
• When playing the endgame with the bishop pair, we should try to create a passed pawn.

It is a very well-known fact that bishops are long-range pieces and cover important squares from a distance. This is an example of how,

Bishops, In semi-open positions, play a pivotal role in blocking piece mobility by restricting the major squares.

Here the material is equal but the position favours black.

The below position is very common at GM levels. This is the Berlin End game where Black decides to lose castling right with a doubled pawn structure just to get the bishop pair. This was popularized by GM Vladimir Kramnik.

This is a very well-known drawing end game. Here we can see that the position is still a draw. Whereas if we add one dark square bishop there will be a mating net. This shows how they complement each other.

You can press the analysis button and check this is drawn because the king is in the wrong colour corner.

Here game is totally winning for white. It is Mate in 9.

Now we will see the GM level matches for analysis,

Match 1 -

Match one is the match between,

Kasparov Garry vs Tiviakov Sergei. ( 2001 )

This is Sicilian Defense: Closed, Grand Prix Variation
Here the main idea is to see how Garry made his bishop work.

This is the position we got.

Let's get into the mind of Garry Kasparov step by step.
Step 1-
I see my b7 bishop access is blocked. How can I open this diagonal?
"Oh, I will push f5 and force him to trade."
My opponent knows what I want. He is GM. So, he will not take the pawn. He moves Rae1.

Step 2- 
Garry thinks deeper and moves Nec6. "Wait! Siddharth, I don't get this move. Why? 
Here Garry is trying to say that if you take my f5 pawn, I will take it back with the g pawn. " What? Isn't that weakening the king? 
I will say he is Garry believe him. He is the longest-world champion ever. His idea is to connect the bishop and queen. Move the king to h8 and bring the rook to g phile. This move creates multiple threats.

Step 3 -
Now the opponent takes the bait plays exf. gxf, is played as planned.
Re2, My opponent wants to double the rook. I will bring my rook into attack so, Rae8. Re1 now as the opponent planned is played.

Step 4 -
Garry finds this position suitable to slide a king to f8. The opponent sees Rook is coming and plays Qh3.
Here Garry sees his only piece blocking the bishop's vision is the knight. So he trades it by forcing move Ncd4. Nxd4-Bxd4 is played, which is check on the king. Kh1, is played. Now Garry gives the final blow if threat Rfg8.

Now these are GM-level players. So the game continued for a while but at last, Garry won. 
The purpose of this game is, 
To show you that middle games are not straightforward like, "Yes, I know all the concepts."  It's all about. You asking the correct question and seeing which middle game exists in our position. 
Similar to the endgame, When we say this is two rooks mate, Two bishop mate, Queen and Rook mate, The Queen mate. Middlegames are the same we have to stop troubling our mind in what move should I play and instead ask what kind of middle game I am having. Is it outpost one, Opposite side castling one, Bishop pair one or weak square one? Once you understand this you will feel chess is a very easy game. Also, you will start understanding top GM moves in live games.

Overall Game -

 Now Next matches are for you to explore more.

Match 2-

Gata Kamsky vs Vladimir Kramnik ( 1996 )

Match 3 -

Efim Geller vs Paul Keres ( 1952 )

Now when we talk about bishop pair we should be aware about to play against it. 

Remember,

• Bishops are strong in open positions.
  
• If the position is semi-open, the bishops are better only if the knight doesn’t have any outposts or active squares.
  
• The advantage of the bishop pair is given by their cooperation.
• The two bishops can control both light and dark squares, complementing each other.

That means we should,

• Try to keep the game as closed as possible.
• Create outposts for your knight and turn it into a strong, uncomfortable piece for your opponent.
• Try to trade off one of the bishops. Pay attention though at the resulting position; you should only use this idea if the exchange favors you.
• Modify the pawn structure; strive for blocking the pawns.

I hope you love this blog on Bishop Pair and hope to see your support here.
Till then,
Let us all grow at chess.

...The End...