The Winning Academy 5: What to do with a bishop pair?

by Jan Markos
2/8/2022 – The pair of bishops can be a powerful weapon. If you know what to do with them. In the fifth installment of "The Winning Academy" Jan Markos shows what you should do to convert the advantage of having the pair of bishops into a winning position.

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Some people simply can’t appreciate the true value of things. Surely you have met them before: they pour coke into expensive wines, spoil delicate dishes with huge amounts of salt and pepper, eat popcorn and talk at the cinema, and fall asleep (and snore) in concert halls. They know that drinking good wines, attending concerts and dining in fancy restaurants is supposed to be a good experience, but they absolutely don’t know why. They simply can’t enjoy these things.

Similarly, many chess players can’t really make a good use of strategical advantages. They know that controlling the centre or having a space advantage should be a good thing, but they barely know how to make use of it.

And the most striking example: most chess players do not know what to do with a pair of bishops. This is a recurring experience in my career as a coach: everyone knows that having a bishop-pair is good, but almost no one knows what to do with it.

And we are not speaking about amateurs only. Even titled players do have significant problems with this strategic concept.

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Please, have a look at the following example:

Pacher-Bobula, Slovak Team Championship 2009, White to move:

 

Milan Pacher, playing with white pieces, earned his IM title in the year the game was played. Today, he is a GM with extraordinary attacking skills. And yet, in the diagrammed position he played:

16.f4?

Why is this a bad move? Well, having a bishop-pair means playing against a knight. It is your main task to deprive this knight of good central squares. This means you should place your pawns very carefully, so that no weak squares for the knight appear in your position.

But Pacher’s thinking was probably different. He felt that having a bishop-pair, he should do something “active”. And therefore, he marched forward with his f-pawn.

However, this is wrong. Having a pair of bishops, you are in no hurry. Usually, the longer the game, the stronger is the bishop-pair. Long game means exchanges, exchanges mean empty board, and on an empty board 2B are considerably stronger than B+N.

Therefore, an experienced GM would play a rook move or something like 16.a4.

The game continued:

 16…c5! 17.c4?! (17.dxc5 is a better way to go, although Black earns a tempo, as the white king is weakened after f2-f4) 17…Nf6 18.Bc3 Rfd8 19.d5 Be7 20.Rfe1 Kf8

 

White’s mistaken activity has brought him into an unpleasant position: his centre is vulnerable. However, even here he can hold approximate equality playing 21.Bxf6. But Pacher was still thinking that he should keep his pair of bishops and be active. He played 21.Rad1?!, sacrificing the d5 pawn for non-existent counterplay. Black won in 44 moves.

Here's the complete game:

 
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1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bd7 5.Nf3 Bc6 6.Bd3 Nd7 7.Qe2 Ngf6 8.Nxf6+ Nxf6 9.Bg5 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 c6 11.c3 Qd5 12.Qxd5 Nxd5 13.0-0 Bd6 14.g3 h6 15.Bd2 0-0 16.f4 c5 17.c4 Nf6 18.Bc3 Rfd8 19.d5 Be7 20.Rfe1 Kf8 21.Rad1 exd5 22.cxd5 Nxd5 23.Ba5 b6 24.Be4 bxa5 25.Bxd5 Rab8 26.b3 a4 27.bxa4 Rb4 28.Bc6 Rbd4 29.Rxd4 cxd4 30.Kf2 d3 31.Be4 Bc5+ 32.Kf3 d2 33.Rd1 Bb4 34.Bc2 Rc8 35.Bb3 Re8 36.g4 Re1 37.h3 Ke7 38.Bc2 Kd6 39.Bb3 Kc5 40.Bc2 Kd4 41.Bb3 Kd3 42.Kf2 Bc5+ 43.Kf3 Re3+ 44.Kg2 Ke2 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Pacher,M2366Bobula,M23960–12010C10SVK-chT 09109

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So, what should a player do with a pair of bishops? We already identified two don’ts: you should not hurry and you should not change your pawn-structure carelessly. Let us have a look at two dos as well.

Firstly, you should usually place your pawns on the colour of your opponent’s bishop. E.g. if you have 2B against a N and a light-squared B, you should put your pawns on light squares. Why? Well, for two reasons: 1) you want to restrict the opponent’s bishop and 2) if the light-squared bishops get exchanged in the future, you want to have a “good” bishop against a knight.

Knowing this rule, it will be easy for you to find out what Kramnik should do in the following position:

Kramnik-Tiviakov, Wijk aan Zee 2001, White to move:

 

The former World Champion had to decide: Should he keep the dark-squared bishop closed or should it open the lines for him, closing at the same time the path for his light-squared brother? Knowing the abovementioned rule, the solution is simple. Kramnik played quickly 15.c4! Rfe8 16.d5!, disappointing the black light-squared bishop.

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1.d4 McShane Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.a3 Bxc3 9.bxc3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Qc7 McShane: 'A complex position arises out of the opening where White has the bishop pair and more central pawns while Black has a less fragile pawn structure, and the possibility of incarcerating the c1 bishop behind its own pawns.' 11.Bb2 e5 It is noteworthy for what comes later in section 4, that even in this rather old, well-established variation the imperative is on black to attack white's centre, even though this is likely to accelerate the opening of the position. At the risk of anticipating John Watson's remarks somewhat, it might help to see it not just as a question of opening the position or not, but as black striking and making sufficient mess to both try and create good squares for his knights and also to PREVENT WHITE FROM OPENING THE POSITION ON HIS OWN TERMS. Because, lets face it, if black sits back and does nothing special, white will organise the e4 advance and improve the scope of the bishop pair at his own civilised pace!! 12.h3!? Unusual, but the line has a definite logic. Why does white so often retreat the c4 bishop voluntarily when as here the ...Na5 move with which black will force it back, seems to have both positive and negative points and while aimed at the light squares is also potentially neglectful of the centre? e4 13.Nd2 Na5 14.Ba2 Bf5 14...c4!? 15.f3 Bxh3!? 16.Nxe4 Nxe4 17.fxe4∞ 15.c4 '!' McShane. A common problem in these lines: opening up one bishop's diagonal blocks in the other. Rfe8 16.d5 Nd7 McShane: 'Black now hopes to prove that the a2 bishop is restricted, in the long term to place a knight on d6 and advance b7-b5. But Kramnik has moves in-between...' 17.f4!       Contests the e5 square and the b2-g7 diagonal. Logical: focus attention on that 'uncontested bishop'. McShane: 'Now the threat of g2-g4 and f4-f5 trapping the bishop forces Black to capture en passant.' 17.f3 McShane Ne5! and Black sacrifices a pawn but can maintain a stronghold in the centre. 17...exf3 Funny old rule this en passant, although one suspects Vlad had it covered! Probably the capture is pretty much forced - e5 is a big point in black's defence. Still, the f-file is a huge asset too, f7 can be a bit moist, and white is perfectly well equipped in this case for a light square discussion too. 18.Qxf3 Bg6 19.h4 '!' McShane. McShane: 'Kramnik is a fantastic player with the initiative and drives his advantage forward ruthlessly. This one forces a weakness.' h5 19...Ne5 20.Qg3 20.Bb1! The bishop finds a new home. OK, in general we shall be looking at positions where the proud possessor of the bishop pair is not the one initiating exchanges of bishops, but here we are already in the realm of the familiar 'transfer of advantages': from 'bishop pair' to 'direct attack' in the course of which 'exchanging key defenders' is quite legitimate. Qd6 21.Bc3 The down side of ...Na5. b6 22.Ne4 Rxe4 '?!' McShane. Its understandable that black didn't like the look of 22...Qe7!? but the problem with the exchange sac is that despite an improvement in the condition of black's knights, white's initiative ( and bishop pair ) survive pretty much in tact. 22...Bxe4 McShane 23.Qxf7+ But 22...Qe7 McShane: may be a lesser evil although 23.Ng5 Qxe3+ 24.Qxe3 Rxe3 25.Bxg6 fxg6 26.Rf7! promises a big initiative with a rook on the seventh rank. 23.Bxe4 Nxc4 24.Qf4 Qxf4 25.Rxf4 Nxe3 26.Bf3 McShane: 'Black has two pawns for the exchange, but the bishop pair and passed pawn make White's job easier. Even so, Kramnik doesn't waste time in pressing home his advantage.' Nc2 27.Ra2 Re8 28.g4! Attack before material. Whatever we may come on to say later, there is no disputing that healthy bishops thrive on open lines! hxg4 29.Bxg4 Ne5 30.d6! Nxg4 31.Rxg4 Re6 32.h5 Bd3 33.d7 Rd6 34.Rxg7+ Kf8 35.h6 Nd4 36.Rag2 Bg6 37.Rf2! Nf5 38.h7 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kramnik,V2772Tiviakov,S25971–02001E59Corus4

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The second advice on playing with a bishop-pair is considerably more complex. I will try to do my best to explain it as clearly as possible:

When you have a bishop-pair, there are at least two scenarios your opponent wants to avoid. Firstly, he does not want the position to open. Secondly, he does not want to put his pawns on the colour of his bishop, as then the squares of the opposite colour would be too weak.

Missing a bishop, your opponent will often decide against a pawn move that would be perfectly good and normal with both his bishops on the board. And you can use this fact by gaining more space than usual.

Therefore, with a bishop-pair you can play for win-win scenarios. Often if you start gaining space in a smart way, your opponent will be left with two unappealing choices: 1) he does not oppose and thus ends in a cramped position, or 2) he does oppose but allows the position to open for your bishops, or compromises his own bishop.

The previous sentences were a little bit too abstract. Here is a very good illustration of the principles mentioned above:

Fischer – Ibrahimoglu, Siegen 1970, White to move:

 

White’s pair of bishops is idle, and it might seem that it has very little value. However, that would be a misjudgement. Fischer’s plan is to gain space on the queenside, and for Black it is difficult find an appropriate answer.

Please note that the seemingly natural 12.f4?! is a bit too pushy. After 12…e5 13.f5 Bh6! it becomes clear that White has violated several rules previously mentioned in this article and thus complicated his task.

Fischer played 12.a4, and after 12…Rad8 13.Nb3 Black had to choose. Should he allow a4-a5 and Be3, after which his entire queenside is under pressure? Or should he oppose this plan? Ibrahimoglu chose the latter:

13…b6 14.Be3 c5 15.a5 e5 16.Nd2 Ne8 17.axb6 axb6

 

Black managed to avoid being suffocated. However, the price he paid was too high. His bishop is very passive and the light squares in his camp are extremely weak. There is no doubt White is much better.

Fischer played 18.Nb1! and went on to win a fine game.

 
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1.e4 c6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 g6 4.Ngf3 Bg7 5.g3 Nf6 6.Bg2 0-0 7.0-0 Bg4 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 Nbd7 10.Qe2 dxe4 11.dxe4 Qc7 12.a4 Rad8 13.Nb3 b6 14.Be3 c5 15.a5 e5 16.Nd2 Ne8 17.axb6 axb6 18.Nb1 Qb7 19.Nc3 Nc7 20.Nb5 Qc6 21.Nxc7 Qxc7 22.Qb5 Ra8 23.c3 Rxa1 24.Rxa1 Rb8 25.Ra6 Bf8 26.Bf1 Kg7 27.Qa4 Rb7 28.Bb5 Nb8 29.Ra8 Bd6 30.Qd1 Nc6 31.Qd2 h5 32.Bh6+ Kh7 33.Bg5 Rb8 34.Rxb8 Nxb8 35.Bf6 Nc6 36.Qd5 Na7 37.Be8 Kg8 38.Bxf7+ Qxf7 39.Qxd6 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Fischer,R-Ibrahimoglu,I-1–01970A07Olympiad-19 Preliminaries C6

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Next time you will be enjoying the advantage of a bishop-pair, please enjoy it mindfully. Remember:

  1. Creating holes in your pawn structure might ruin your advantage altogether, as a safe centralized knight usually compensates a pair of bishops.
  2. Be patient! Your time will come, when the chessboard empties itself a bit.
  3. Put your pawns on the colour of your opponent’s bishop, thus restricting it.
  4. Remember that having a bishop pair often allows you to gain space, as your opponent has to be very careful with his pawn play.

PS. Please note that all examples in the article contained the material 2B vs. B+N. Surely your opponents can also have two knights, but far more often he will have B+N. Why? The reason is purely mathematical, based on combinatorics. For further insight, please check my book Under the Surface.

Jan Markos, Under the Surface, Quality Chess 2018

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Jan Markos is a Slovakian chess author, trainer, and grandmaster. His book Under the Surface was the English Chess Federation´s 2018 Book of the Year. His last book, The Secret Ingredient, co-authored with David Navara, focuses on the practical aspects of play, e.g. time-management over the board, how to prepare against a specific opponent, or how to use chess engines during the training process. Markos was the U16 European Champion twenty years ago. At present he helps his pupils from several countries to achieve similar successes. Apart from focusing on the royal game, he is also the author of several non-chess books, focused on critical thinking, moral dilemmas, and phenomenology.

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