Colour Complexes

Light squares, dark squares

In this lesson you will learn

What a colour complex is
What happens when a bishop leaves the board
Placing pawns on the right colour
Playing on the squares your opponent cannot control

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7.1 Squares of One Colour

When a player loses or exchanges one of his bishops, the squares of that colour become harder to defend. If, in addition, his pawns stand on the other colour, those squares become holes — a weak colour complex.

The rule for pawns: put your pawns on the opposite colour of your remaining bishop, and on the same colour as the bishop you have lost, so that the pawns cover the squares the missing bishop cannot.

Diagram 7.1White to move

The Hübner System

Black has given up the dark-squared bishop for the knight on c3. To keep control of the dark squares, Black places his pawns on c5, d6 and e5.

With pawns on c5, d6 and e5 Black covers the dark squares d4 and f4 that the missing bishop can no longer guard, and the position stays closed, so White’s bishop pair has few open lines. Black’s knights and light-squared bishop work on the light squares, above all against the doubled c4-pawn.

Remember

When a bishop disappears, its colour becomes weaker.
Pawns should stand on the colour of the missing bishop.
Put your pieces on the squares your opponent cannot control.
A bishop is “bad” when its own pawns block it on its colour.

Exercises · Lesson 7

Every exercise has been checked with a chess engine. Find the best move or choose the right plan.

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Exercise 7.1Find the move

White to move