defence · recognise → explain → apply

Trade heavy pieces toward a bishop blockade

A bishop can control the enemy passers if rooks no longer support invasions.

Explanation styleChoose any style. Age is not playing strength; no birth date is needed.

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Notes and replay positions are saved. Practice games are temporary; export their PGN to keep them.

Choose an example

Caruana,F – Carlsen,M

2nd Sinquefield Cup 2014 · 2014.09.04 · 1/2-1/2

37... Bxd8 · White to move

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What to notice at 37... Bxd8

The game reaches a drawn opposite-coloured-bishop ending. Its result is historical evidence, not a blanket rule for all such endings.

A legally replayed historical example, not a claim that every move is best. A game’s result does not prove every defensive position was lost or drawn.

Game source ↗

Your thinking first

Name the signal, choose a plan, and test the opponent’s most challenging response.

What do you notice?What is your plan, and why?How could the opponent resist?

Recall and explain

1. What changes after ...Rd8 Rxd8+ Bxd8?

Explain it in your own words before revealing.

Make it memorable

Trade the battering ram, then test the wall.

Teach this to a friend in one minute. Then return to a different example and look for the same signal without being told its name.

Reflect and revisit

This is your self-assessment, not an engine grade or a promise of mastery.

Connect the ideas

Practise pawn transformations →

Sources and further reading

Original LumaChess teaching and game analysis. Topic references are credited below; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.

Exeter Chess Club — Exchanging to Win ↗