ChessOpposite-colored bishop endgames are among the easiest endgames to hold: each side has one bishop left, one running on light squares and the other on dark squares. The attacker's bishop can never touch the color the defender controls, so as long as the defender blocks the pawns with the king and watches the squares they have to cross with the bishop, it's often a draw even one or two pawns down. When you play chess online for free and fall a pawn or two behind, don't resign. See if you can reach opposite-colored bishops first.
The key position
To make progress, a white pawn has to go to e5 or f5. e5 is a dark square that the black bishop sees; f5 is covered by the black king. White's bishop is light-squared and can never chase the black bishop away.
How to hold
King in front, bishop on the diagonal
The defender's plan is simple: the king stands in front of the pawns, and the bishop sits on the diagonal the pawns have to cross. As long as neither leaves, the attacker can't push.
Give up the bishop for the pawns when needed
A lone bishop can't checkmate, so if the defender gives up the bishop for both pawns, what's left is a draw. This is a standard lifesaver in opposite-colored bishop endings.
One extra pawn is almost always a draw
Common mistakes
The defender's most common mistake is letting the king leave the square in front of the pawns:
Another mistake is moving the bishop off the diagonal it is guarding, for example Bd8 or Ba5. The tablebase says those lose too.
There are exceptions, though: when the two pawns are connected, already far advanced and supported by the attacking king, the defender is often too late to set up a blockade:
Practice puzzles
Show answer
1... Bxe5 Bxe5! The bishop takes the pawn, White takes back, and the black king takes on e5. White has only king and bishop, and it's a draw. Every other move loses according to the tablebase.
Show answer
1... Ke5 For example Ke5, blocking the e4-pawn (Kf6, Ke7 and Kf7 also hold). Only Kd7 loses: the king is too far from the pawns.
FAQ
What are opposite-colored bishops?
Each side has one bishop, one moving only on light squares and the other only on dark squares, so the two bishops can never meet.
Why are opposite-colored bishops so drawish?
The attacker's bishop has no control over the color the defender is guarding. Once the defender puts king and bishop on the squares the pawns have to cross, the attacker has no piece that can drive them away.
Are opposite-colored bishops drawish in the middlegame too?
Not necessarily. With queens and rooks still on the board, opposite-colored bishops actually favor the attacker: the squares your bishop attacks can't be defended by the other bishop. It's the endgames with only bishops and pawns that are drawish.
Try it yourself
Opposite-colored bishops and the wrong bishop are both examples of "extra pawns that can't win", so go back to chess endgames and read them together. Or play chess online against the computer, and when you're behind, try to reach an opposite-colored bishop ending and practice the blockade.