In short: When each player has one bishop and they move on different colors, one on light squares and the other on dark. Endgames with opposite-colored bishops are often drawn.
Each player starts with one bishop on light squares and one on dark. If both have only one bishop left, and they move on different colors, they are called opposite-colored bishops. They can never meet. One rules the light squares, the other the dark.
A draw despite two extra pawns
In the endgame this makes the defense very strong. The defender puts the king and the bishop in front of the pawns, on squares the attacker's bishop can't reach, and then the pawns can't get any further.
With correct defense the position above is a draw, however White plays. If White tries to force the pawns forward, Black can often give the bishop for both.
Show the solution step by step
It isn't always so. If the pawns stand far apart, or have already advanced far up the board, the defense isn't always enough. But if you are behind in an endgame with bishops, it is often wise to aim for exactly this: opposite-colored bishops.
In the middlegame it is the other way around
With many pieces left on the board, opposite-colored bishops help the attacker instead. The attacker's bishop can't be met by the opponent's, and if it is aimed at the king, there is no bishop that can get in its way. That is why the same bishops that hold a draw in the endgame can decide an attack on the king in the middlegame.
Read more about the bad bishop and about draws.
Frequently asked questions
Why are opposite-colored bishops so often drawn?
The defender can build a wall on the squares the attacker's bishop can't reach. The king and the bishop blockade the pawns, and the attacker's bishop can never chase them away.
Is that true in the middlegame too?
No, there it is often the other way around. The attacker has a bishop the opponent can't meet on the same color, and that can decide an attack on the king.
Updated October 31, 2026
The starting position. Press ▶ or use the arrow keys.