Opposite-Coloured Bishops in the Middlegame

Every board on this page is live. Move the pieces by tapping or dragging, click any move in the lines to see that position, and press ↺ to start again.

9.1 The Attacker Has an Extra Piece

In the endgame, bishops of opposite colours are famous for their drawing tendency. In the middlegame it is the opposite: the attacking bishop strikes at squares that the defending bishop can never cover. In practice the attacker often plays with a piece more on the decisive colour.

1. Attack on the squares of your bishop’s colour.
2. Keep queens and rooks on the board if you are attacking — they work together with the bishop.
3. As the defender, exchange the attacking pieces, especially the queens, to reach the drawish endgame.