Checkmate with knight and bishop

Correct me if I'm wrong, but forcing checkmate with a knight, bishop and king vs. a king is the hardest checkmate to pull off that is still possible with perfect play on both sides.

One of the many things I've had on my "to do" list for years was to master how to do it. There are several YouTube videos on the topic, but this one is my favorite.



I would hate to say how many times I've watched it. One problem is when you play against a computer or a human being, they don't move like the black king in this video. I've learned that memorization alone isn't enough. You have to understand the way pieces compliment each other. It is easy to sneak past a knight or a bishop, so you have to carefully combine them. However, you may move only once piece at a time, which gives your opponent a chance to take advantage of holes left in your offense when you move a piece. It all makes for a good mental challenge.

By no means am I saying I've mastered this, but I'm getting better. I can easily beat this practice game, but the computer acts the same way every time. It is harder to beat my mother-in-law, who pretty much moves randomly.

Let me close this post by asking if anybody would like to challenge me or me challenge you. We can submit moves here or by text.

Quote: Wizard

Correct me if I'm wrong, but forcing checkmate with a knight, bishop and king vs. a king is the hardest checkmate to pull off that is still possible with perfect play on both sides.

Actually Queen+King vs. Rook+King is by far the hardest to force checkmate. It can take up to like 30 moves if the guy with the rook knows what he's doing. I have no idea how to do it myself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pawnless_chess_endgame#Queen_versus_rook

Quote: Shrek

Actually Queen+King vs. Rook+King is by far the hardest to force checkmate. It can take up to like 30 moves if the guy with the rook knows what he's doing. I have no idea how to do it myself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pawnless_chess_endgame#Queen_versus_rook

I did not know that. I meant where the black side had a king only, but can see I didn't say that.

Quote: Wizard

Correct me if I'm wrong, but forcing checkmate with a knight, bishop and king vs. a [black] king is the hardest checkmate to pull off that is still possible with perfect play on both sides.

My thought is to pin the black king to a single square, by putting him into check heh heh, then bring the white knight up on the next move to attack that square. The white king will be essential itself to oppose the black king. The knight may get in its own way but I think not.

I'll try this and if I have trouble I'll watch the video

and will report back

interim report: I won't be able to do it without getting some tips. Stay tuned.

Quote: odiousgambit

interim report: I won't be able to do it without getting some tips. Stay tuned.

Just remember that you can't check the King on every move. Think of it as trying to "box in" the King. You have to force the King to the edge of the board first and then force him into one of the corners.

Watched the video. One thing I didn't realize is that it takes a lot of moves even when doing it right. However, watching the video once may not be sufficient! One thing I have avoided is accidental stalemate, not my first rodeo for that!

the tips from the video skip one thing that keeps getting me: my pieces keep getting in each other's way. If the bishop is on white squares, then the knight must be on a white square to control some of the black squares as is ultimately the idea ... one can easily block the other.

Here is a video explaining what I'm trying to do. If you're at least an amateur chess player, please watch. You can skip the first 20 seconds.

well, if the chess computer doesn't give you any more trouble than that, not too many humans are going to do better, except for that tendency to run to the edge, that's weird for a smart program like that

I have to assume you find level 10 unbeatable in a regular game. Or maybe even L7 or L8?