Opposite bishops: definition and guide

Opposite bishops

Definition

Opposite bishops (often called “opposite-colored bishops”) describes positions in which each side has a bishop that moves on squares of the opposite color to the other’s bishop. For example, one side has a light-squared bishop and the other has a dark-squared bishop. In notation-heavy discussion you may see this abbreviated as “OCBs.”

Why it matters

Opposite bishops profoundly shape both endgames and middlegames:

• Endgames: They are famously drawish. Even a material deficit (sometimes two pawns!) can be held because each bishop controls a different color complex, making it hard for the stronger side to force progress. Classic defensive setups are often a Fortress leading to a Theoretical draw.
• Middlegames: Counterintuitively, opposite bishops often favor the attacker. Why? The defender cannot contest the attacker’s bishop on its color complex, so attacks against the king (or a weak color complex) can become overwhelming.

Core ideas and strategic themes

• Endgame drawing technique:
  • Keep pawns on the opposite color of the opponent’s bishop so they can’t be attacked easily.
  • Build a blockade with your king and bishop on squares your bishop controls; the opposing bishop can’t challenge those squares.
  • Head for fortresses and “no progress” setups. Engines and Endgame tablebase results confirm many such positions are dead drawn.
• Winning chances for the stronger side:
  • Create a passed pawn, especially an Outside passed pawn, on the same color as your bishop to shepherd it forward.
  • Play on both wings. The defender’s bishop can’t help on the “other” color complex, and the defender’s king can’t be everywhere.
  • Use tempo moves and zugzwang motifs; sometimes a precise waiting move forces concessions.
• Middlegame attacking setups:
  • Launch a focused attack on the squares your bishop controls around the enemy king. Typical plans include a rook lift (e.g., Rook lift) or a queen–bishop Battery aiming at h7/h2 or g7/g2.
  • Color-complex strategy: Fix the opponent’s weaknesses on your bishop’s color and maneuver all pieces to amplify that pressure.
• Useful connection: The “Bishop of the wrong color” (wrong-colored bishop) is a special case where a bishop plus rook pawn can’t win if the bishop doesn’t control the promotion corner—another illustration of color-complex dominance.

Example 1: Fortress in an opposite-bishops endgame (draw)

In this model position, White is two pawns down but holds by creating a blockade on dark squares while Black’s dark-squared bishop can’t attack light squares:

Position: White Kg2, Bf3, pawns g3, h3; Black Kg5, Bd6, pawns g6, h5. White to move. It’s extremely hard (often impossible) for Black to make progress.

Typical holding ideas:

• Keep the king near g2/f2 and the bishop on e2–f3–g2 squares to stop pawn breaks.
• If Black advances …h4, White meets it with g4 or hxg4 en route to a fixed blockade. With no route for the king and no zugzwang, the position is a fortress—an archetypal opposite-bishops Theoretical draw.

Example 2: Opposite bishops in the middlegame favor the attacker

Here, White’s light-squared bishop dominates the light squares around Black’s king. Black’s dark-squared bishop cannot contest those squares, so White piles up an attack with heavy pieces:

Position: White Kg1, Qh6, Re3, Rh3, Bd3, Ng5, pawns f2, g2, h2; Black Kg8, Qd8, Ra8, Rf8, Bg7, pawns f7, g6, h7. Black to move. White threatens Qxh7# leveraging the light squares.

Sample ideas:

• If 1… Re8, then 2. Qxh7+ Kf8 3. Rf3, and Black is under a crushing attack on the light squares (h8, f7, e8 motifs).
• Black lacks effective light-square defense because the dark-squared bishop can’t challenge d3–h7 or b1–h7 diagonals. This is a textbook case of opposite bishops favoring the attacker in the middlegame.

Rules of thumb

• Defending in the endgame:
  • Put your pawns on squares of the opponent’s bishop to limit its scope and make targets untouchable.
  • Build a blockade on your bishop’s color; aim for a fortress.
  • Trade rooks and queens if you’re defending; opposite bishops plus only minor pieces tends to be drawish.
• Attacking in the middlegame:
  • Keep queens and at least one rook on the board to intensify the attack.
  • Fix weaknesses on your bishop’s color complex, then maneuver to pile on (Q–B battery, rook lifts, sacrifices on the target complex).
  • Create play on both wings; stretch the defender’s coordination.
• Pawn placement:
  • Stronger side: advance pawns on your bishop’s color to support promotions and create mating nets.
  • Weaker side: fix pawns on the opposite color from the enemy bishop and avoid unnecessary pawn moves that give targets.

Interesting notes and history

• Capablanca and many classical masters illustrated “effortless” holds in opposite-bishops endgames, shaping the modern view that many such positions are drawn with correct play.
• Conversely, dynamic attackers from the Romantic and Soviet schools (e.g., Tal) loved opposite-colored bishop middlegames for their attacking potential—“a bishop that can’t be opposed.”
• Endgame tablebases have confirmed numerous fortress patterns once evaluated only heuristically, reinforcing practical guidelines used by generations of players.

Practical checklist

• Defender:
  • Trade heavy pieces when possible.
  • Fix pawns on squares your opponent’s bishop can’t attack; aim for blockades and fortresses.
  • Beware of pawn breaks that open new diagonals for the opposing bishop.
• Attacker:
  • Keep queens/rooks; coordinate a color-complex attack.
  • Create a Passed pawn (ideally far advanced) supported by your bishop.
  • Play on both flanks if one-wing progress stalls.

Related terms

• Opposite-colored bishops (alternative wording)
• Same color bishops
• Fortress
• Theoretical draw
• Bishop pair
• Bishop of the wrong color
• Endgame tablebase
• Blockade
• Rook lift

SEO summary

Opposite bishops (opposite-colored bishops) in chess: how to play the endgame fortress and secure a draw, when the middlegame attack is strongest, pawn placement rules, winning plans with passed pawns, and practical tips for converting or defending these color-complex positions.