How to Checkmate with Knight and Bishop

Bishop and Knight checkmate is one of the most challenging endgames that you have to learn.

But I will show an easy way to get a quick Checkmate with Knight and Bishop vs King and common mistakes to avoid.

First, let’s begin with the basics:

Read also: How to Checkmate with Rook and King

How to move the Bishop in chess?

The bishop moves diagonally across the board, covering any number of unoccupied squares along its diagonal path.

Each player starts with two bishops, one positioned on light squares and the other on dark squares.

This unique movement pattern allows bishops to control long diagonals and influence the board from afar.

How to move the Knight in chess?

The knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces.

You can move it in an “L” shape: two squares in one direction (horizontally or vertically), and then one square perpendicular to that direction, or the inverse.

Checkmate with a Knight and the Bishop

This is the final position of the checkmate with a Knight and the Bishop. Notice that the Knight occupies b8, and the Bishop controls all the diagonals from h1 to a8.

So the king has nowhere to go, and it’s a checkmate.

Set up a position to Checkmate with a Knight and the Bishop

If we want to checkmate the opponent King, we have to make sure that we push him to a corner that is the same color as our Bishop.

So in this case, I know that I’m only going to checkmate this King on this two corner:

This is the initial position; this is where everything starts. We need to push the opponent’s king to the corner of the square that is the same color as our bishop.

So, first, you need to put your pieces on the central squares:

You can do that by starting pushing your king, then bringing your Knight and Bishop to the center:

Notice that your opponent will always run to the corner that is opposite your bishop color.

After that, you continue pushing the king until we reach this position:

In this case, you need to push the opponent king to the light square corner to checkmate him.

First move to play is Bishop to h7, so the king is forced to go f8:

From here, you need to push him to the left corner with the help of your three pieces, and when you reach this position, play the following move:

1. Nc7 Kb8 2. Na6 Ka8 3. Be4#

Here is a live example of an endgame with a Knight and Bishop vs King:

Common mistakes to avoid

There are some common mistakes you need to avoid them when you have a Knight and Bishop vs King, including:

1. Don’t allow the opponent’s King to escape. If you play 50 moves without checkmate, you will get a draw.

2. Don’t leave your pieces unprotected, because the King will take it.

3. play carefully and calculate every move to not get a stalemate like this:

4. Remember basic endgame principles, such as pushing the opponent king to the same color corner as your Bishop and activating your pieces.

Checkmate with Knight and Bishop for Black

The same thing, you have to push the king into the corner and then Checkmate him with the Bishop.

Maybe it isn’t easy, but you need to memorize it because you need it to level up.

Read also: How to Checkmate with Queen and King

Knight & Bishop endgame practice exercises

Find the checkmate in one (Black to move):

Solution:

Find the checkmate in one (White to move):

Solution:

Find the checkmate in two (White to move):

Solution:

First, you play Nh6, then your opponent plays Kh8 (the only move), and then you checkmate him with the move Bd4.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)