Lecture by UMBC Chess Coach Igor Epshteyn
In this lesson we will study middle games with roughly balanced material in which one side has two bishops (on different colors) and the other side does not. Often, but not always, the two bishops create a strategic advantage for the side with the bishop pair. Since the bishop is a long-moving piece, bishop pairs usually work best in open positions and least well in closed positions.
Steinitz was perhaps the first chess theorist to discuss the positional theory of the two bishops; earlier tactical players, however, were aware of the attacking power of the bishop pair in open and half-open positions. On an open board, a pair of bishops on adjacent diagonals can command a significant strip of territory, which among other tasks, can fence off an enemy king. In the ending, the advantage of two bishops and their superior mobility is especially strong when pawns are on both sides of the board.
An important fact is that the bishop pair works well with hanging pawns, since the bishops intensify the dynamic strength of the hanging pawns. In particular, advancing the hanging pawns can expose bishops lying in ambush.
In the first game, White achieves, maintains, and relentlessly presses an advantage of the two bishops with open center. In this game we also see instructive examples of pawn sacrifice for initiative and the powerful placement of a rook on the seventh rank.
White (to move): Kg1, Qf3, Re4, Rb1, Bd2, Bb3, a2, c2, c3, d3, f2, g2, h3.
Black: Kg8, Qc8, Ra8, Rf8, Nb6, Nc6, a7, b7, c7, e5, f7, g7, h6.