defence · recognise → explain → apply

Blockade on your bishop’s colour

In an opposite-coloured-bishop ending, your bishop can occupy the passer’s advance square.

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

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Carlsen,M – Caruana,F

4th GRENKE Chess Classic · 2017.04.19 · 1/2-1/2

40. Bc6 · Black to move

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What to notice at 40. Bc6

Black’s bishop on d6 blocks the d5-pawn in the drawn final position. The lesson concerns the actual barrier, not an automatic draw rule.

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. Which square in front of White’s d5-pawn is occupied by Black’s bishop?

Explain it in your own words before revealing.

Make it memorable

One colour guards the door; the king guards the path.

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 ↗