Hi! The two-knights checkmate is notoriously tricky because it requires precise coordination between the king and knights to force the enemy king into a corner. The key steps involve understanding how to restrict the opponent's king's movement gradually and "herd" it toward a corner while maintaining control.
Here are a few tips to help with step #3 (forcing the king into a corner):
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Triangulation with the King and Knights: Use your king and one knight to create a "corridor" that limits the opposing king's escape routes. Keep tightening the noose by carefully advancing your pieces while avoiding unnecessary repetition.
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Correct Corner Target: Ensure you're targeting a corner that matches the position of the pawn being blockaded. If the pawn is on the board, you must avoid stalemating the opponent by maintaining flexibility.
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Zugzwang Techniques: Force the opponent’s king into positions where it has no choice but to move closer to the corner. A key part of this is using your knights to control squares from a distance, leaving the king fewer safe moves.
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Practice the W-Maneuver: A common technique for herding the king involves moving your knights in coordinated "W"-shaped paths, cutting off the king's escape routes incrementally.
Since videos didn’t work well for you, I’d recommend practising this endgame with an engine or online drills to see how each move works in real-time. Look for engines or platforms like Lichess or Chess.com that allow you to play through the two-knight checkmate scenario repeatedly until it becomes intuitive.
Hope this helps, and good luck mastering this rare endgame skill!
Obviously, your opponent has to have a pawn that can be blockaded by one of the knights. I've watched several instructional videos on this process and I understand the concepts.
1. Never capture the pawn.
2. Blockade the pawn.
3. Force the king to the corner of the board with the K and your non-blockading N.
4. Once the king is trapped in the corner, maneuver the blockading knight so as to deliver checkmate.
The problem is step #3. I can never make any progress. The king just dances around my K and N and I can see no way to force the lone king into a corner. There has to be a mechanical method for doing this, but it is not evident.
Here are two videos that teach this, but they really don't help me that much>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrD4CN9cqdM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik8P-i5qyjU
Does anybody have anything to offer in this area that can help me?