Is it possible to mate wtih only two kinghts?

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Avatar of malko

If my opponent only has the king, and I have two knights and the king, can I win?


Avatar of emilyispsycho7

no its impossible


Avatar of erik

not if your opponent makes the correct moves. but if he doesn't know how to play it, or wants to get mated, you can checkmate with 2 knights :)


Avatar of malko

Thanks for the feedback! Laughing

 


Avatar of hellrazor

if king is in corner is works


Avatar of Torkil

What might be interesting to know for you is that with K+2N against the bare king you usually can't force mate, but this assessment changes completely if your opponent has got a last pawn. Provided it has not yet advanced too far, you can force the king into the corner and then, just in the moment where a stalemate would draw the game, release the pawn to redirect the blockading knight to deliver mate, sometimes exactly in the moment that pawn queens.

This process is quite complicated and in some cases requires more than fifty moves, which is, as I believe I remember, why in some theoretical positions the fifty-move-rule has been exteneded to something like 75 moves.


Avatar of sstteevveenn

I think the rules as they stand say that 50 moves is a draw even if a mate could be forced in more than 50 moves.  I believe it used to be different. 


Avatar of emilyispsycho7

looks like i was wrong. . . .


Avatar of Ddub
it works but is hard to force king into it.
Avatar of mineta

You can checkmate with two knights, but it is very hard! 

   Checkmating with two bishops is a lot easier to do!

   

  Good luck!


Avatar of sstteevveenn

It's IMPOSSIBLE to force the king into it, unless he's already almost in checkmate, like in the example that appears to have been deleted...  K vs K+2N is a draw except for very specific positions where the king is almost in checkmate, just like K+R vs K+R is a draw, except for specific obvious positions where one of the rooks can be won.

 


Avatar of vijaykulkarni

True you need a cooperative opponent


Avatar of AWARDCHESS

You have to read greatest Chess Composer Troitskiy! 

He made it much clever, generally...


Avatar of eternal21

Why do some people post nonsense in this thread?  Under normal conditions - It is not HARD - it is IMPOSSIBLE to force a King into a mate with 2 Knights.


Avatar of brettwith2ts

I think that the original question has been answered thoroughly. 

An interesting aside, though, is the three-knight mate.  The third knight makes it possible, and once in a league match, I did it with four knights, which is almost easy to do.  Try it out sometime, on yourself or a computer. 


Avatar of normajeanyates

I accidentally deleted a precious post, leaving a response an orphan. Here it is updated: [say white has K+N+N, Black has lone K]

Even with black cooperating, it is well knnown that black can only be mated with his K in a corner (the position 1 and its symmetries): so what about position 2?

position 1:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pos ition 2:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer: position 2 is unattainable however badly Black plays! White is on move, so what was the last move i.e. what did black move to reach this position? No possible answer.

 

 

 


Avatar of naftalip

Isn't it possible?

 


Avatar of mueller

just fyi the '50 move rule' for draws is 50 moves without a capture or a pawn move. so if they have a pawn on the board, chances are they'll move it and reset the moveclock back to zero, giving you 50 more chances to work with whatever you have.


Avatar of bastiaan

Only possible with a bit of cooperation and experience from the knight's players.
I try never to end up with two minor pieces. Bishops are annoying for a mate too.

Try preserving your pawns(if you have any). In an empty board situation one pawn might well be worth much more than 2 knights.


Avatar of Ziryab

I can do better after my coffee in the morning--faster and more accurate. But, this exercise at least makes the point that mate with two bishops is not difficult if I can do it in 57 seconds.