Bishop VS Knight

 

Kramnik,Vladimir (2759) - Khalifman,Alexander (2612) [D38]
Champions Rapid Zürich (2), 23.08.2009

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Qb3 c5 8.cxd5 exd5 9.e3 0-0 10.dxc5 Bxc3+ 11.Qxc3 Qxc3+ 12.bxc3 Nd7 13.Rd1 Nxc5 14.Rxd5 b6 15.Rd4 Be6 16.c4 Rfc8 17.g4 Rc7 18.g5 hxg5 19.Nxg5 Rac8 20.Nxe6 Nxe6 21.Rd5 Nc5 22.Rg1 Nb7 23.h4 Kf8 24.h5 Rc5 25.Rgg5 Nd6 26.Rxc5 Rxc5 27.Rxc5 bxc5 28.Bd3 Ke7 29.Ke2 Ne8 30.Kf3 Nf6 31.Kf4 Nxh5+ 32.Ke5 Nf6 33.Bf5 g6 34.Bh3 Ne8 35.Kd5 Nf6+ 36.Kc6 Ne4 37.f4 Nf2 38.Bf1 Nd1 39.e4 Nc3 40.Kxc5 Nxa2 41.e5 Nc3 42.Kd4 Na2 43.c5 Nb4 44.Bb5 Kd8 45.Kc4 a5 46.Ba4 Na6 47.Kd5 Nc7+ 48.Kd6 Ne6 49.c6 Nc7 50.Bb3 Ne8+ 51.Kc5 Ke7 52.Kb6 f6 53.Bc2 fxe5

 

The eternal duel of bishop against knight. It is astonishing that two such different pieces should be in general of approximately the same material strength. On larger boards, such as for example 10x10 squares, the bishop should as a rule be considerably superior to the knight and even on our 8x8 board general opinion gives a very slight edge to the bishop. But in the latter case, it depends to a great extent on the concrete features of the given position, which is one of the charms of the game of chess. If it is an open position, with play on both wings, then as a rule the bishop is better - as in the following rapid game:

54.fxe5?

This automatic recapture turns the position into a static one and Black's blockade ought to hold up against White's attempts at siege warfare because of the strongly reduced amount of material on the board.

The dynamic [54.Bxg6! Nf6 55.Kb7 Nd5 56.Be4+- would have allowed Kramnik to secure the promotion of his passed c-pawn directly.]

54...a4

[Surprisingly, even 54...g5!? is playable: 55.Bg6 g4 56.Bxe8 g3 57.c7 g2 58.c8Q g1Q+ 59.Ka6 (59.Qc5+ Qxc5+ 60.Kxc5 Kxe8=) 59...Qd4= and, paradoxically, White's extra piece cannot guarantee a win, because the pawnless endgame of queen and bishop against queen is generally speaking a draw.]

55.Bxa4

[55.Bxg6 a3 56.Bxe8 a2 57.c7 a1Q 58.c8Q Qb2+ (Of course, not 58...Qd4+?? 59.Qc5+ Qxc5+ 60.Kxc5 Kxe8 61.Kd6+-) 59.Bb5 Qxe5=]

55...Kd8?

This blockade can be lifted with the decisive engame weapon of zugzwang. Getting rid of the e-pawn by [55...Ke6 56.Bc2 Kxe5 57.Bxg6 draws, e.g 57...Nd6 58.c7 Ke6 59.Bh5 Nc8+ 60.Kb7 Ne7 61.Bg4+ Kd6 as we get a well-known drawing fortress.]

56.Bc2 g5 57.Bf5

Now the bishop controls matters according to the principle of the single diagonal. It can always force Black into zugzwang by waiting moves, so the black fortress cannot hold out for long. 57...Nc7 58.Bh3 Na8+ 59.Kc5 Ke7 60.Kd5 Nc7+ 61.Kc5 Na8 62.Bg4 Nc7 63.Kb6 Kd8 64.Kb7 Ne8 65.e6 Nd6+ 66.Kb8 Nb5 67.Bh3 and Khalifman admitted defeat in view of the fresh zugzwang. 1-0

 

source :Chess base