LaviChess

Mate with two bishops

Two bishops can checkmate a lone king, but it takes more patience than with a queen or a rook. The bishops stand side by side like a wall, the king helps, and the mate comes in a corner.

The mate in the corner

With two bishops and a king you drive your opponent's king into a corner. There one bishop checks, the other covers an escape square, and your king takes care of the rest. Any corner will do.

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Mate in the corner: the light-squared bishop checks, the dark-squared one covers b8, and the king takes care of the rest.

The method in brief

  • The bishops side by side. Two bishops on neighboring squares guard two neighboring diagonals. Together they make a wall the king can't get through.
  • The king helps. The bishops take the diagonals, your king takes the squares in front of your opponent's king. Without the king it can't be done.
  • Toward a corner. The wall moves one step at a time, until the king has only the corner left. Then the checks come.
  • Watch out for stalemate. In the corner the king has few squares. Always leave it at least one until you can give mate.

The last moves

Here Black's king is already near the corner. See how the bishops take away one square at a time, and how White's king comes up before the checks finish the job. With best play this takes seven moves.

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Black's king is already near the edge. The bishops stand side by side in the middle of the board and guard two neighboring diagonals.
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Open on the analysis board

Practice against the computer

This is harder than mate with a queen or a rook. Take your time, and keep an eye on the 50-move rule: 50 moves without a capture or a pawn move is a draw.

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You are playing White. Make your first move.

You have White. Drive the king toward a corner with the bishops side by side, and bring up your king. The computer defends Black. Don't forget the 50-move rule.

Two bishops on the same color

The bishops have to move on different colors. Two bishops on the same color can only come about through a promotion, and they can never give mate: the king always has a square of the other color. The position is dead, as FIDE's rules put it, and the game ends in a draw.

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Two bishops on the same color, here both on dark squares, can never give mate. Black's king is always safe on a light square. This can only happen after an underpromotion.

Frequently asked questions

Can you checkmate with two bishops?

Yes, if the bishops move on different colors, which they do unless one of them came from a promotion. The king has to be driven into a corner, and your own king is needed to cover the nearest squares.

Which corner should the king go to?

Any of them. With two bishops on different colors you can give mate in all four corners. With bishop and knight it's different: there the king has to go to a corner of the same color as the bishop.

Can two knights checkmate?

Not against a lone king that defends correctly. Mating positions exist, but the defending king can always avoid them.

Updated October 28, 2026