Bishop + Knight Mate Simplified | Principles of Chess Endgames | GM Naroditsky

00:10 Intro
01:00 Phase 1
06:10 W Pattern
11:48 Common Mistakes
Daniel now has a Patreon! Check it out at / danielnaroditsky
- Follow Daniel on Twitter at / gmnaroditsky
- Daniel streams regularly on Twitch at / gmnaroditsky
- Daniels Discord / discord
#speedrun #grandmaster #chess

[@hideomituns2184]

I've watched 4 different GMs explain this mate. Yours is the best explanation. Using sense, using concepts, teaching in organized manner. Wow. You just a natural born teacher.

[@potatoonastick2239]

Well, don't forget the years of teaching experience, not everything is natural born, tho I still very much agree ofc

[@entelektuel.yolculuk]

Well, don't forget the years of teaching experience, not everything is natural born, tho I still very much agree ofc

[@mindfulmagician7550]

I agree with this. I played a game on got to the bishop and knight end game and couldn't finish because I was relying too much on a memorized pattern and didn't really understand the reason why I had to make certain moves. The waiting move has been really huge for me actually. Thanks so much Daniel!

[@davidmays2660]

Just mated Stockfish 14 with knight and bishop in 36 moves - 25 minutes very well spent!

[@frankberger8243]

the issue is: Stockfish walks into the corner immediately (since it's the longest mate) where the easy W applies. Humans would stay in the center and need to be pushed to the corner, which, in my opinion, is the hardest part. Congratz nonetheless, I still remember my first N+B mate, feels amazing!

[@goldenboy140]

@@frankberger8243 exactly. I can mate stockfish with bishop and knight in seconds because it moves predictably and follows the pattern. Vs humans it's a lot harder

[@Youtube_Stole_My_Handle_Too]

It's just sad that Stockfish has yet to make a decent play against k and b. It doesn't even have the capacity to mix it up with the two different escape strategies when forced out of the opposite-colored corner. Obviously, not a single thought has been put into this challenge. With rook and bishop against rook on the other hand Stockfish put up a much better resistance, maybe because it's a technical draw and the first one is a forced win.

[@goldenboy140]

@@KZbin_Stole_My_Handle_Too Well Stockfish does put up THE BEST challenge against k and b but that's exactly the problem.

[@Youtube_Stole_My_Handle_Too]

@@goldenboy140 No, it doesn't. It doesn't even mix up which way to go after K,n,K,b from the edge out - whether to go back to f1 or continue to d1. Thus, the player only needs to know one of the techniques. A well-programmed engine should go back to f1 on the first choice and make a run for it at the next force along the edge - for no other reason but to test if the player knows where to place the bishop in the middle of the bord when K tries to run away. This shortcoming is transferable to the second strategy when the bishop is used to trap the king into a deflating triangle.

[@T1J]

bruhh danya is a legend. i never fully understood how to do this and now after this video and a coupe hours practice i think i got it down. never had it come up in a game yet but i'll be ready now lol

[@connorshafran]

Nice to see you here!

[@MrSauri1]

bro I love your videos

[@jasonparker6138]

same here, didn't realize you were a chess nerd too

[@tristanbass-krueger7195]

I'm so excited, never thought I would learn this, but I just got a mate in 35 moves vs stockfish.

[@tmc272]

I've found the key to understanding waiting moved is to always keep track of which squared the enemy king can move to. When every possible square that the king could move to EXCEPT the one you want him to move to is controlled, then you make a waiting move to force him to take one step closer to his doom.

[@Lodzio20]

Obviously.

[@aluminiumknight4038]

Good tip

[@trequor]

@@Lodzio20 Not to everyone.

[@Sbigsla]

Thats a very nice way to conceptualize it

[@ghorarmangsho871]

Excellent way of articulating it

[@nolanheffner7493]

Thanks for this tutorial! I initially learned the bishop and knight mate through Lichess' practice modules, but I always struggled to conceptualize the squares under time pressure. After watching your video, I was able to checkmate with knight and bishop in 31 moves :D without breaking a sweat. Although I do not expect to ever require the skill, it makes me feel just that bit more refined as a player. As always, excellent content! In my opinion, you are the chess youtuber with the most effective educational content. Thank you for everything that you do :)

[@ranlit7717]

Since we’re willing to venture into these highly technical and mathematical (formula-based) endgames I actually really hope we can also go through those famous chess endgame “mathematical patterns” such as the Lucena position, the Philidor position at some point. I get lazy and don’t try to learn these useful theoretical combinations by heart but I believe with Danya’s help it might propulse me into remembering these stuff!! Thank you for everything!

[@Ninjalectual]

John Bartholomew has some great videos on those positions BTW

[@rayfangrui]

One suggestion I would make is for how to remember where the W starts. Instead of diagonal from the mating square (which seems arbitrary), you can deduce it with the logic that the knight needs to be able to control the "wrong corner" (because the bishop cannot). This way, you know exactly where the starting square of the W is and do not even need to back it out.

[@AhmadRizviYT]

yes he said that in the video too

[@alanpedro1448]

This playlist is completely amazing! Found this Channel thanks to Gotham, subscribed and now I am watching pretty much everything there is in the Channel

[@alanESV2]

I used to look at these positions with the engine and some moves I just didn’t understand, now I feel these are so much clearer

[@milklover2830]

This happens to me like couple months ago. It’s like a whole new world opened.

[@robertr7923]

An engine is not a good tool to learn this. An enginen defines a best move as the moves which prolongs the mate the longest (if you are getting checkmated), or the fasest way to checkmate the opponent. Since the engine can easily look 50 moves into the future it will do some ridiculous engine line without any concrete logic behind it, which leads to mate fastest. This technique is much simpler but an engine would recommend none of these moves

[@yessir6427]

@@robertr7923 yes

[@aaaabb1666]

Really interesting way to explain The alternating colour complexes of the night and Bishop at 6:30, I never thought of it like that Great video really well explained, I’ve never come across the idea of assisted opposition hopefully that’ll help me get the king in the corner - truly is the hardest part; thank you!

[@sergiob8501]

I like how Danya smiles a little bit every time when he mentions "pawn trousers" :)))))

[@BuffGuy71]

Can’t break an omelette without making some eggs 🥚

[@fergs1561]

It is impossible to break a make if you forego eggletteing your omes

[@sumitabhattacharjee2327]

@@fergs1561 too much for my brain!😂

[@koifish528]

Making the mother of all omelettes here, Jack. Can't fret over every egg

[@TheChessGiant]

Very helpful Daniel, thanks brotha!

[@pagnedaman3777]

Awesome! I've always heard of this legendarily challenging mate, but with this explanation and some practice, it's very doable.

[@anthonykohanski]

Danny Rensch gave one pointer that helps you remember to move the knight before the king when it's time for the W Pattern. "Knight leads the way, King saves the day." Great video 👍

[@thecalendarninja]

and the bishop delivers the goods

[@thecalendarninja]

then we just rinse and wash like shampoo

[@RoyLGamer]

Thanks for these awesome videos Danya! I watch everyone you make

[@jirilinhart1775]

Thank you Daniel very much! I struggled with this mate before, but after watching this video I can finally do it. You described the technique very well.

[@xgirvel]

This is the best BK mate tutorial ever. I completely understood everything and was able to mate stockfish in 28 moves for the first time in my life.

[@blazingfire7517]

By far the best explanation of this mate I’ve ever seen. Keep up the great work

[@javrancheng9917]

Thanks Danya! This vid is a great addition to my knowledge about KBNvK endgames! I learnt triangle method and then later w-maneuver, and have done lots of chesscom endgame practices (in fact I can comfortably complete the practice less than 50 sec on the mobile app), but still it doesn't get me ready for it - computer almost always heads towards the wrong corner so I don't have much experience on what to do if my opponent runs towards right corner. Danya did a great jobs conceptualizing many key ideas, few includes: - forcing the king to a bank rank first (I was always thinking about how to squeeze opponent king to a corner, which sometimes doesn't mean progress) - bishop as the close quarter combatant and knight the perimeter defender (I have this vague idea for first step that if knight stays too close to the action something is probably wrong, as it risks stalemate and opponent king can use that knight as a sheild from the bishop) (BTW I think it can also be said that bishop is a good "move-waster") - identify where the knight should be if king is already caged to a back rank (I just do the stupid method of forcing the king to a corner and proceed my practiced method, but there gotta be a better way) My practice is not in vain though, I do find myself getting the right answer pretty quick when it comes to the w-maneuver part, for which I'm very happy XD. Also while watching this vid I realized have a mixture of w-maneuver and triangle technique. For example 19:04 I'll do Bh6 Kf7 (only move) Bg5, then ... Kg7 Ke6 or otherwise seek to play Nc6-Ne5 forming the cage as in triangle method rather than continuing with the W.

[@wsleppy4699]

THANK YOU FOR THIS END GAME SERIES! I have improved my endgame so much from your videos on endgame you've been putting out. 10/10 content.

[@catch2297]

very excited to try this as ive just started the video and the comments are all seeing success, Thank you Danya as always !!

[@suninlaw]

Great stuff! I always feel like my time spent watching your videos is worthwhile.

[@Kokurorokuko]

I'm amazed at Danya's abilities to digest even the hardest concepts and put them in such easy separate steps. Spasibo.

[@davidgilbert8256]

This is the best explanation on KZbin by miles!!

[@vilmoshorvath3557]

Thank you very much Daniel. Your explanation was perfect, really nice guide.

[@stevechoatie249]

I really enjoyed your explanation of the technique involved with checkmating with a bishop and knight.

[@sergiob8501]

Very instructive video is definitely deserves to be on TOP!

[@Alpacalypse-ro8tn]

I never thought I would be able to learn this. Jeremy Silman has a whole book on endgames and says that B+N mate isn't even worth learning its so hard and rare, so I thought it was almost impossible to learn! I've done it several times now and only had to re-watch the video 2 or 3 times. Amazing lesson!

[@yessir6427]

what a bozo that guy

[@TheQuicksilver115]

Loving these endgame videos!

[@Muzzycal]

Best explanation on this i've seen. You're great

[@TheGrishark]

Great stuff as always, thank you!

[@sergiob8501]

Good content , thanks very much, Daniel

[@DeepakKumar87]

Can't believe this content is free! Thank you so much

[@rafnaegels8913]

Dude i did it four times in a row for the first time. You’re amazing man!

[@valentinorfeuvre1447]

first time I understand thank you !! best explanation ! you make it easy to get

[@markn.7914]

Daniel is such a good teacher it’s ridiculous

[@drsteviejasengnsangma8739]

Excellent lesson!!! Probably the best in KZbin❤️

[@philipmaher2198]

Another masterpiece. Thank you.

[@docfrayon]

I'm going to practice this !! Thank you

[@jitsmapper4438]

thanks man. this really helped me

[@austingriffin259]

Practiced this strategy and got it down in under an hour. thank you DN you're a lifesaver

[@TeaSmuggler]

I did it. Finally learned this after +10 years of playing chess on a casual level. Thanks.

[@paulhan3314]

thank you Danya. you are a blessing.

[@louismyers8845]

Thank you for the very instructive video on this topic - from this video and some practice - I know can do the checkmate(done in under 3 minutes once!)

[@grapeleopard6809]

This is literally the only video that worked for me lol managed to beat stockfish on highest setting thank you sensei!!

[@williamtraub1356]

"There's only one airport, you need to shut the airport down" I'm getting the image of Danya as an all-knowing evil dictator slowly quelling a rebellion with his chess genius.

[@nicoboero15]

Danya you are seriously goated. I cant believe im doing the mate consistently from any starting position and not drawing with repetitions or 50 move rules.

[@heraldofv3379]

Wow, out of absolutely everyone, he is the one who managed to make me understand this whole method. The best, undoubtedly.

[@tamir8501]

I actually find queen+king vs rook+king harder. A lot of videos only include where the king with the rook is stuck in the corner, which is the easiest. But I always ask myself, ("let's say there's a white king on h1 and white queen on a1. And now put the black king and rook at the very center. Now can I checkmate?"). This video really helped me through the first phase of bishop and knight. I would love to see also a rook vs queen.

[@Sbigsla]

K+Q vs K+R is indeed the hardest one even according to some books like 100 endgames you must know (in fact it is the 100th endgame on the book)

[@bobing1752]

@@Sbigsla I think the litteral hardest is the 2 knights vs pawn mate. But other than this one it's definitely queen vs rook

[@SGAMaddin]

Nice explanation of this mate! A queen and king vs rook and king video beyond the usual would be great. For me getting to the known positions (Philidor, second and third rank defense) against the engine is the mayor challenge. I know that the practical relevance of this endgame is rather low but out of principle I would like to learn it but I am a bit lost as to how to approach it.

[@suskisusannah]

Thanks for this video, well explained! I just had this mate in my game today, and managed to win :)

[@big_darkside2716]

I always struggled to get the hang of it. Now that I watched this video, i've mated Stockfish 15 four times in all corners!!! Thank you very much for this super useful and very good described method Danya :) Edit: I just wanted to add the fact, that it's so much easier to visualize the pattern with for example a "W" or a picture. TY once again Danya!

[@joshua17111]

Very nice video!

[@Para-rt9uk]

I've never fully cottoned on to this until i saw this video. Now i've done it twice in a row against stockfish level 8. Thanks Daniel so much for this brilliant explanation. Now the trick is to do it as fast as you did against Hikaru!

[@ddulullrraa]

Thank u so much for this amazing video dayna. I hope to watch queen vs rook endgame technique.

[@bobing1752]

Honestly I learned a weird methode with triangles and a slightly different W, and it was not only harder (or maybe not as well explained), but it was also less efficient because it takes a lot more moves. I'll remember your method. Very useful.

[@user-eb3zu8ez4i]

GREAT VIDEO

[@Jaksary]

thanks for this!

[@olliert4840]

Nice to see an explanation which isn't just the simple algorithm once black king is in the 'wrong' corner. Also nice to see an example of a black king actually trying to defend the mate instead of just blindly sprinting to the 'wrong' corner like the lichess training bot does. Thanks!

[@suskisusannah]

Thank you! I finally understood it. :)

[@UNKNOWN5427]

Never learned this mate before. Watched this video and after about 30 mins I completed the 5 B+N mates against stockfish in under 3 mins. Danya is truly the best chess teacher

[@kaptkraut]

THANK YOU SOO MUCH

[@buxeessingh2571]

Note that if you keep the King on the back rank, the Bishop also traces a couple of W's. In the first example, it Iis h7-g6-f7-e6-d7-c6. Your waiting moves are the ones on the 7th rank. There is a second method which Bruce Pandolfini teaches, called the method of nets or cages. It shows another way that Bishops and Knights work together. You see the middle net at 24:05 and 24:50.

[@npip99]

Great explanation ~ A good tip is, instead of "working backwards to construct the W" 7:40, Something that's also easy to remember: if it's a dark-squared bishop, then the Knight is on the 7th rank going along the dark squares. If it's a light-squared bishop, the Knight is on the 7th rank going along the light squares.

[@bagdanedin2071]

This 25 minutes video was better than any other resources on B+N checkmate

[@DakshinaRaghu]

Ty!

[@ishanvasisth3902]

Thanks a lot sir I watched this video 2 times and was able to beat stockfish 8 easily. Now I will feel more confident playing winning endgames where I don't need to worry about my opponent's sacrifices to eat all my pawns. 😃

[@koxukoshu]

cant believe a video like this is up,,, thank you

[@koxukoshu]

still one of my favorite chess videos on youtube

[@matheus_rml]

at 12:32 you actually can go Nc5 right away, because there is still a way to force the king towards the corner, BUT there is a trap: If you go Nc5 right away, the black king goes to c8 (only move), then you go Be4 1. if black goes Kd8 you play Bc6, he is forced to play Kc8, the you go Bd7+, if black goes Kd8, you go Ne6#, a checkmate position that can’t be forced If instead if Kd8 he went Kb8, there is a sequence of forced mate witch is easy to find 2. If black goes Kb8 right after Be4, you still can drive the king to the corner by getting the opposition and easily checkmating

[@neilaryaofficial]

Thanks Daniel for teaching me this last thing that I've been trying to learn for a very long time. One day I'll beat you like this. ❤

[@heruilin4404]

After years of failed attempts, following this method it took a week of solid practice to get it down. Stockfish 8 always runs to the corner of the opposite color to the attacking bishop. Tried on a few friends who would invariably run to the easier corner.

[@jasonmckinney8166]

Daniel, I can't thank you enough for this training on the B+N Mate. I've been playing chess for 22 years and I have NEVER been able to get the concepts behind this mate even when it was taught to me! This lesson was so practical and easy to follow that today I logged into Lichess and beat the comp in this position 3 times in a row without failing once! I cant believe it.. I'll tell you the point that you made about your knight being one square diagonally in front of the ending "W" square was the game changer for me. Against the Lichess Comp I found that square and traced it back so that I knew exactly where my knight needed to be. Even wit best resistance the Comps King could never escape. And also your point about the waiting moves. These two ideas were the blind spots in my understanding all of these years! You and John Barthlomew are by far the best Chess Teachers on the internet. Big thanks to you and I will continue to recommend this channel and also support you on Twitch as well!! Thanks :)

[@vishrutravindran8364]

More please!

[@jiemileng7745]

Thanks for this Daniel, in one try and I succeeded and against the bot. It's crazy that I can do it lol, but a great video

[@djurii]

Great video! Will you be making a video on 2 bishops mate?

[@chargingthunderboi]

Thank you

[@SLKCHESS]

Nice Endgame lesson

[@Khepriem]

I can't believe I just did it! I could do it on the first try after watching the video! I'M SO HAPPY!!

[@Jake6Enjoyer]

Great video, could you make a video about defending the evans gambit like you did against the king's gambit?

[@sting3345]

ty Sensei

[@mikek3459]

Thanks for showing this golden mate sequences..a really must know how to do that..Maybe one will face it never on the board, but if it happens, then one knows how to mate the opponent within 50 moves :D. Keep up your great vids & work ;) Cheers!😁

[@andrew_owens7680]

I think the value in this is memorizing procedures (multi-move systems where the moves are not guaranteed to be the same, but they fall within guidelines). And advanced chess seems to be full of these.

[@jonathanlovelace521]

The video helped me mate with knight, bishop, and rook (against knight and bishop.)

[@coaxmazoku2004]

Thankyou

[@44r0n-9]

I know full well that when I ever get into this situation I'll have forgotten all of this, but great explanation anyway lol

[@thefastmeow]

a varients chess player 64board brought me here, i never knew the mate was so simple and the way you can catch the king if it runs away is just beautiful.

[@jacobcarrizales427]

The W in most cases is just knight opposition to the king. That’s what I needed. I spent forever trying to learn this and that one idea knocked all the fog away.

[@GK-il3fn]

Great explanation considering it was improvised

[@Omar_Merican]

yayyy! i thought this was what the last video was about! 😂

[@jadalsayegh672]

Best chess teacher ever !

[@zoklev]

I studied&practiced this mate for fun, and I can blitz it out in almost-optimal play I think you're over-complicating phase 1 of pushing K to an edge; here's a simple life-hack: set up your B&N a diagonal square from each in the center (doesn't have to be center 4 squares; can be a few squares away if the pieces get there faster, w/ the B closer to opponent's K, such that they co-ordinate perfectly to guard a force-field of squares, then you can use K+opposition to force opponent's K towards a corner

[@claudiog7692]

What a coincidence, I just learned this yesterday! I don’t think I have fully mastered it tho because Stockfish always makes it easy for me choosing the easy way instead of testing me by trying to escape with the king

[@hanfrencken6208]

True

[@davidketterman961]

You can also check mate with the knight as well as the bishop.

[@aoliya107]

jeez... you make the best in the world chess educational content, mate with bishop and knight is not going to be a problem for anyone since today!

[@birdieparty.]

Would you one day try doing the queen vs rook checkmate? I just cannot do it! Trying to get the king to the edge of the board with just a queen AND rook opposition is so complicated. Again great video!!!

[@Rastafaustian]

Yeah, from what I remember QvR is very unintuitive and difficult. I never was able to fully wrap my head around it.

[@aluminiumknight4038]

Yeah that one is weird, basically the queen has more waiting moves than the rook so the rook will end up on a forkable square, sometimes you give many checks to get the fork

[@michaelvolkel3093]

I love it! It feels a bit out of order with the videos before though that were focusing on very fundamental methods and creating names for common patterns etc. knight plus bishop seems like a very, very specific corner case situation tho. I’m just going by the playlist order. Should I go differently about it?

[@johntaylor2683]

I wonder how often this mate happens in practice? The real take away is visualising how you can prevent that including bishop wait moves, bishop assised opposition and night to block esacpe moves and moves including night w formation where knight is on edge of board blocking king into corner for bishop checkmate, that kind of thinking can help with other endings I'm guessing.

[@aryashetty3924]

Yeah agreed. Playing this endgame enhances the chess knowledge, despite its chances of happening being very less. But it has happened once in a masters game, where the player failed to deliver the checkmate. So it's also good to avoid such embarrassment.

[@franr3028]

Eric did it to Levy Rozman the other day in a 1+1 lol

[@smrtfasizmu6161]

I have played 10k games in my life (mostly blitz though) and I have never encountered bishop and knight vs nothing situation.

[@adamjskater]

@@smrtfasizmu6161 If you know how to execute this mating pattern then you can trade down into such positions and win, if you don't know how to then you'll never purposefully trade into such a position.

[@T1J]

one in every few thousand games according to wikipedia. although personally I used to intentionally avoid this endgame because i didnt know how to do the mate lol

[@GiannisBak]

Thank you very much! I made it against stockfish