KING, BISHOP, AND KNIGHT AGAINST KING.* THIS is a much more difficult checkmate than any of the preceding ones, and should you be left with suca a force at the termination of a game, you would probably find it quite impossible to win within the stipulated number of moves. This position merits a close examination, and you will then see that in this case, the King must not only be driven into a corner of the board, but into one of them which is commanded by your Bishop.

You will observe in this position (see Diagram 5), that the Black King is in the most unfavourable situation for you, since he occupies a corner square which is not commanded by your Bishop.

WHITE.

1. Kt. to K. B's 7th (ch.)

2. B. to K's 4th.

3. B. to K. R's 7th.
4. Kt. to K's 5th.
5. Kt. to Q's 7th (ch.)
6. K. to his 6th.
7. K. to Q's 6th.

8. B. to K. Kt.'s 6th (ch.)
9. Kt. to Q. B's 5th.
10. K. B. to his 7th.
11. Kt. to Q. Kt.'s 7th (ch.)
12. K. to Q. B's 6th.
13. K. to Q. Kt.'s 6th.
14. B. to K's 6th (ch.)

15. Kt. to Q. B's 5th.

BLACK.

1. K. to Kt.'s sq.
2. K. to B's sq.

3. K. to his sq.

4. K. to his B's sq., or A.)
5. K. to his sq.
6. K. to Q's sq.

7. K. to his sq. (best.)
8. K. to Q's sq.
9. K. to Q. B's sq.
10. K. to Q's sq.
11. K. to Q. B's sq.
12. K. to Q. Kt.'s sq.
13. K. to Q. B's sq.
14. K. to Q. Kt.'s sq.
15. K. to Q. R's sq.
16. K. to Q. Kt.'s sq.
17. K. to Q. R's sq.

(A.)

4. K. to Q's sq.

5. K. to his 6th.

6. Kt. to Q's 7th.

5. K. to Q. B's 2nd.
6. K. to Q. B's 3rd.

This is his best move, to avoid the corner square; if, instead of this, he play his K. to Q. Kt.'s 2nd, your best move is the B. to Q's 3rd, and if he then play K. to Q. B's 3rd, you can move your B. to Q. B's 4th, and after his next move, B. to Q. Kt.'s 5th.)

7. B. to Q's 3rd.

8. B. to Q. Kt.'s 5th.

9. Kt. to K's 5th.

10. Kt. to Q. B's 4th.

11. K. to Q's 6th.

7. K. to Q. B's 2nd (best.)

8. K. to Q's sq.

9. K. to B's 2nd.

10. K. to Q's sq.
11. K. to Q. B's sq.

* Chess Chronicle, vol. ii. p. 185

12. Kt. to Q. R's 5th.
13. Kt. to Q. Kt.'s 7th (ch.)
14. K. to Q. B's 6th.
15. Kt. to Q's 6th.
16. K. to Q. B's 7th.
17. B. to Q. B's 4th.

18. Kt. to Q. B's 8th (ch.)

19. B. to Q's 5th (checkmate.)

12. K. to Q's sq.
13. K. to Q. B's sq.
14. K. to Kt.'s sq.
15. K. to R's 2nd.
16. K. to R's sq.
17. K. to R's 2nd.
18. K. to R's sq.

It not unfrequently happens, however, that when your opponent has a Pawn besides the King, checkmate can be given without the necessity of driving him to the corner commanded by your Bishop, because you do not then incur the risk of stalemating him. The following position, from the "Palamède," (December, 1842, p. 288,) illustrates this. (See Diagram 6.)

KING AND TWO KNIGHTS AGAINST KING.

THE two Knights, with the assistance of the King, cannot force check mate; unless, indeed, the adversary has a Pawn, which may sometimes ve made the means of effecting it with only a single Knight, as will be seen hereafter. Many singular positions occur with the Knights, where the adverse Pawns, or even Pieces, may be made to assist in crowding, and finally in checkmating, their own monarch. The following is an example

1

KING AND PAWN,-KING, BISHOP, AND PAWN,-AND
KING, KNIGHT, AND PAWN,-AGAINST KING.

WHEN one Pawn only is left on the board, supported by its King, and the
adverse King is either in front of the Pawn, or within such distance as to
be able to intercept it, it becomes a point of great nicety in some cases, to
calculate whether or not you have the power of Queening the Pawn, and
therefore of winning the game. This frequently depends upon your
gaining the opposition, which you cannot always do.

In the annexed position (see Diagram 8) you have the opposition, and if Black have to play you will win. Thus :

2. P. to K's 7th.

3. K. to B's 7th, and

4. P. Queens.

1. K. to his sq.

2. K. to his 2nd.

But if you move first, the game is drawn; for if you play P. to K's 7th (ch.), Black moves King to his square, and you must either abandon the Pawn or give stalemate. You will find, on trial, that any other mode of play on your part will produce the same result,-from which is deduced this important general rule: That if you can advance the Pawn to its 7th sq., not giving check, you will win; but that if the Pawn checks at this point, you will only draw.

In this position (see Diagram 9) you will win either with or without the move; for if Black have to play, he is forced to allow your King to be moved either to B's 7th or Q's 7th sq.; and if you move you gain the opposition, by playing K. to B's 6th or Q's 6th, and then P. to K's 6th. It is evident that this would equally hold good if your Pawn were any

number of squares less advanced; so that you invariably win, if you can succeed in placing your King on the sixth square of the file occupied by your Pawn, and in front of it; providing, of course, that the single King cannot attack the Pawn, so as to compel you to retreat in order to support it. It is perhaps scarcely necessary to observe, that if the Pawn be upon either of the Rooks' files, these remarks will not apply this contingency will be considered hereafter.

Recurring to the last position (Diagram 9), place your King and Pawn each one square further back, that is, King at his 5th, and Pawn at King's 4th square. If now you have to move you win, by playing King to his 6th as before; but if Black play first he will draw the game. (e. g.)

It is obvious, that if instead he had moved K. to Q's or K. B's sq., you would have won, as in the first example. 5. K. to B's sq.

5. K. to B's 6th.

And draws as before.

The student is recommended to devote a little time to the careful examination of the preceding positions and variations, with such others arising out of them, as will readily suggest themselves; after which, he will not find much difficulty in understanding the following one. (See Diagram 10.)

This position was first given by Lolli, and has been subsequently quoted by most of the later authors. An analysis of it will exhaust the principal varieties of this branch of the subject. The winning of it for White, depends altogether upon his having the move or the contrary. In the first place, suppose White plays first :

If he play K. to B's 3rd, you advance P. to K's 4th, then to K's 5th, and on his afterwards moving K. to his sq., you gain the opposition, as shown before.

6. K. to his sq., or to B's sq,

. K. to K's 6th.

And then advances Pawn, winning.