Light-squared and dark-squared bishops

A bishop moves diagonally and so never changes the color of its squares. The one that starts on a light square stays on light squares the whole game, and the one that starts on a dark square stays on dark ones. That is why each player has one bishop for each color.

The names are about the squares, not the color of the piece. Black's bishop on c8 is a light-squared bishop, because c8 is a light square. One way to remember it: White's bishop on f1, next to the king, moves on light squares, and the bishop on c1, next to the queen, on dark ones. For Black it is the other way around.

When the bishop is gone

If a player has traded off the dark-squared bishop, no piece is left that can guard the dark squares as well. If the pawns also stand on light squares, the dark squares become weak, and the opponent's pieces can settle there. The same goes for the light squares, of course, if the light-squared bishop is gone.

Good and bad, same and opposite

• Bad bishop. A bishop standing on the same color as its own pawns gets hemmed in. Read about the bad bishop.
• Opposite-colored bishops. When the players have one bishop each, moving on different colors, the endgame is often drawn. Read about opposite-colored bishops.

Updated November 14, 2026