 QUEEN VS… (questione fortress per i minor pieces)

o Queen vs Rook -> a meno che non vi sia perpetual check o stalemate immediato, dovrebbe
essere vittoria
o Queen vs Bishop + Knight -> normalmente vittoria, ma esiste una fortress theoretical draw
o Queen vs 2 Bishops -> theoretical forced win ma può richiedere oltre 50 mosse (esiste una
fortress)
o Queen vs 2 Knights -> theoretical draw
 ROOK
o Rook + Bishop/Knight vs Knight (check)
o Rook vs Bishop (una eccezione)
o Rook vs Knight (due eccezioni)
o Rook + Bishop vs Rook (theoretical draw ma difficile da difendere in pratica)
o Rook + Knight vs Rook (theoretical draw, semplice)
 MINOR PIECES
o 2 Knights vs King (troppo difficile)
o Bishop/Knight vs King
o Bishop vs Bishop (se di diverso colore)
 QUEENS ONLY
o Queen vs queen: usually a draw, but the side to move first wins in 41.75% of the positions
There are some wins when one queen is in the corner, e.g. as a result of promoting a rook
pawn or bishop pawn
o Two queens vs one queen: Almost always a win. A cross-check may be necessary. A draw is
possible in a few exceptional positions if the weaker side has an immediate perpetual
check,
o Two queens vs two queens: The first to move wins in 83% of the Wins require up to 44
moves
 MAJOR PIECES ONLY
o Queen vs two rooks: this is usually a draw, but either side may have a win
o Queen vs three rooks: this is nearly always a win for the rooks. This is rare in serious play,
and occurs when promoting to a queen would give stalemate, but three rooks vs a queen is
usually a straightforward win, especially when the defending king must be quite well
confined for stalemate to be an issue for QRR v Q.
o Queen and a rook vs a queen and a rook: Despite the equality of material, the player to
move first wins in 83% of the positions
o Queen and rook vs a queen: this is a win
o Two rooks vs a rook: this is usually a win because the attacking king can usually escape
checks by the opposing rook (which is hard to judge in advance)
o Rook vs rook: this is normally a draw, but a win is possible in some positions where one of
the kings is in the corner or on the edge of the board and threatened with checkmate See
for example the Saavedra position
 QUEENS AND MINOR PIECES
o Queen vs one minor piece: a win for the queen
o Queen vs three minor pieces: draw except for a queen vs three bishops all on the same
color, which in many positions is a win for the queen
o Four minor pieces vs a queen: a win for the pieces if they are the usual four minor pieces
 o Queen and a minor piece vs a queen: this is usually a draw unless the stronger side can
quickly win. With a knight, however, the stronger side has good winning chances in practice
because the knight can create non-linear threats to fork the opponent's pieces and very
accurate play is required from the defender to hold the position. There are 38 positions of
reciprocal zugzwang and the longest win takes 35 moves until the knight forks the queen
and king
 ROOKS AND MINOR PIECES
o Two rooks vs two minor pieces: this is normally a win for the rooks. Henri Rinck discovered
more than 100 positions that are exceptions
o Two bishops and a knight vs a rook: this is usually a win for the three pieces but it takes up
to sixty-eight moves). Howard Staunton analyzed a position of this type in 1847, and
correctly concluded that the normal result of this ending is a win for the three minor pieces
o A bishop and two knights vs a rook: this is usually a draw, but there are some wins for the
three pieces requiring up to forty-nine moves Staunton in 1847 correctly concluded that
the normal result of this endgame is a draw [During adjournment of the Karpov vs Kasparov
game, Kasparov (initially unsure if it is a draw) analyzed that a successful defense is having the king
near a corner that the bishop does not control, keeping the rook far away to prevent forks, and
threatening to sacrifice it (for stalemate or for the bishop, which results in a draw, see two knights
endgame). Tablebases show that it is usually a draw, no matter which corner the defending king is in]
o Rook and a bishop vs two knights: this is usually a win for the rook and bishop but it takes
up to 223 moves. The result of this endgame was unknown until computer analysis proved
the forced win.
o Rook and a knight vs two knights: this is usually a draw but there are some wins (for the
rook and knight) that take up to 243 moves
o Rook and a knight vs a bishop and knight: this is normally a draw.
o Rook and a bishop vs a bishop and knight: this is usually a draw if the bishops are on the
same color. It is usually a win (for the rook and bishop) if the bishops are on opposite
colors, but takes up to ninety-eight moves.
o Rook and a bishop vs two bishops: this is usually a draw, but there are some long wins if
the defending bishops are on the same color.
o Rook vs two minor pieces: this is normally a draw
o Two rooks vs three minor pieces: this is normally a draw
o Rook and two minor pieces vs a rook: a win for the three pieces With two knights, White
must not exchange rooks and avoid losing a knight, but the three pieces have great
checkmating power
o Rook and two minor pieces vs rook and one minor piece: a win for the three pieces
o Two rooks and a minor piece vs two rooks: the normal result is a draw, but some very long
wins exist.
o Two rooks vs four bishops: normally a draw.
 MINOR PIECES ONLY
o Two minor pieces vs one minor piece:
 Two bishops vs a knight: this is a win (except for a few trivial positions
where Black can immediately force a draw), but it can take up to 66 moves.
 Other cases: this is normally a draw in all other cases; Edmar Mednis
considered the difficulty of defending these positions:
  Two bishops vs one bishop: The easiest for the defender to draw, unless
the king is caught in a corner.
 Two knights vs one bishop: any normal position is an easy draw.
 Two knights vs one knight: an easy draw if the king is not trapped on the
edge. However, if the king is trapped on the edge, there may be a win
similar to the two knights vs a pawn endgame.
 Bishop and knight vs a bishop on the same color: may be lost if the king is
on the edge; otherwise an easy draw.
 Bishop and knight vs a bishop on the opposite color: normally a draw but
the defense may be difficult if the defending king is confined near a corner
that the attacking bishop controls.
 Bishop and knight vs a knight: best winning chances (other than two
bishops vs knight). The difficulty of defense is not clear and the knight can
be lost if it is separated from its king
o Three knights and a king can force checkmate against a lone king within 20 moves (unless
the defending king can win one of the knights), but this can only happen if the attacking
side has underpromoted a pawn to a knight.
o Three minor pieces vs one minor piece: a win except in some unusual situations involving
an underpromotion to a bishop on the same color as a player's existing bishop. More than
fifty moves may be required to win
o Three minor pieces vs two minor pieces: if neither player has a pair of same-colored
bishops, this is a won endgame exactly when the stronger side has the bishop pair and the
weaker side lacks it (i.e. BBN vs BN or BBN vs NN). Otherwise, it is a draw. Unusual
situations where underpromotion has resulted in one player having two bishops travelling
on the same colors are more complicated: for example, BBN (different colors) vs BB (same
colors) is not a general win, but contains some very long winning lines
o Two minor pieces:
 Two bishops is a basic checkmate
 A bishop and knight is a basic checkmate, see bishop and knight checkmate
 Two knights cannot force checkmate, see two knights endgame
o Trivial cases: These are all trivial draws in general: bishop only, knight only, bishop vs
knight, bishop vs bishop, knight vs knight.