My First Contact with Chess by Bernard Freedman

[Hans Jung]

CONCLUSION

I will safely state that barely 10% of the chess players know accurately how to mate with N and B.

The above is most helpful in learning to make BETTER USE OF BOTH the N and B.

Bernard Freedman

Past President, Chess Federation of Canada
Past Vice President, F.I.D.E.

[Francis Rodriguez]

CONCLUSION

I will safely state that barely 10% of the chess players know accurately how to mate with N and B.

The above is most helpful in learning to make BETTER USE OF BOTH the N and B.

Bernard Freedman

Past President, Chess Federation of Canada
Past Vice President, F.I.D.E.

Thank you Hans, thoroughly enjoyed all the excerpts!
Much appreciated,
Francis

[Hans Jung]

Sadly its come to an end. But I might put the bishop and knight checkmate teaching section into algebraic notation. Bernard Freedman's method has great merit.

[Hans Jung]

I am transposing from old descriptive notation to algebraic notation in the section Forced Checkmate with Knight and Bishop against King

Four Standard Positions

1. Final Position

White Pieces - Kf7, Bf8, Ng1 or anywhere else Black Kh8

Final moves: 1. Ne2, Kh7 2.Ng3, Kh8 3.Ne4, Kh7 4.Nf6, Kh8 5.Bg7mate

[Hans Jung]

2. INTERMEDIATE POSITION

White Pieces Kd6, Ne7, Ba7 Black Kf6

The black king seems to have the whole field and ready to escape away from thw black corner; but Be3 prevents this. The B, N, and K should act toward the black king like a shepherd and his dog herding his sheep slowly and surely into the enclosure. Hardly any checking.

1.Be3, Kf7 2.Bd4, Ke8 3.Ke6 Kd8 4.Bb6+ Ke8 5. Nf5 (very important key move No.1) , Kf8 6.Bd8, Ke8 7.Bg5, Kf8 8.Be7+, Kg8 (if Ke8 mate next move) 9.Kf6, Kh8 10.Kf7, Kh7 The knight is doing a job of controlling the h6 square so before releasing the knight, White plays Bf8. The bishop will do the same job of covering the h6 square.
11.Bf8, Kh8 12.Ne7, Kh7 13.Nd5, Kh8 14.Bg7+, Kh7 15.Nf6 checkmate.

[Hans Jung]

3.EXTREME POSITION

We know now that with a bishop covering the black squares we have to mate in one of the corners which has a black square.

Black Ka8 (white square) White Pieces Kc6, Bf2, Nh3 or anywhere on the board. We are systematically going to cover with the knight and bishop the square at a8 - b8 - c8 - d8. Black is going to try to escape towards the white corner.

1.Nf4, Kb8 2.Ne6, Ka8 3.Nc7+, Kb8 4.Be3 (tempo), Kc8 5.Ba7, Kd8 6.Nd5 (very important key move No.1), Kc8 (if black K-e8 instead of Kc8, White Kd6 followed by Ne7 see "Intermediate Position") 7.Ne7+, Kd8 8.Kd6, Ke8 9.Ke6, Kd8 10.Bb6+, Ke8 11.Nf5 (very important key move No.2), Kf8 12.Bd8, Ke8 13.Bg5, Kf8 14.Be7+, Kg8 15.Kf6, Kh7 16.Kf7, Kh8 17.Bf8, Kh7 18.Ne7, Kh8 19.Nd5, Kh7 20.Nf6+, Kh8 21.Bg7 checkmate.

[Hans Jung]

4.ORIGINAL POSITION

Black Ke8 White Pieces Ke1, Bc1, Nb1

1.Bb2, Ke7 2.Nd2, Ke6 3.Kf2, Kd5 4.Kg3, Kc5 5.Bc3 White controls the whole fourth row with his three pieces (except a4). The black king can never pass. White moves his king up to close in on the black king, White has plenty of tempo moves. Black will have less and less. If White can repeat a similar position on the fourth or fifth row, it will be very easy to force the black king in any corner or back row. With the black K at a1 instead of h8 and white pieces Bc1, Kc2, just imagine the board turned around. With the white bishop on a white square (instead of a black square), you mate on the white corner square instead of the black corner square.

You can also close in on the black king from both sides of the final corner. Try the above position on every corner of the board forcing the black king to the corner from both sides.