Bishop and Knight Mate
also known as: The W Manoeuvre
Named after
No person — though the "W manoeuvre," the knight's zigzag path that herds the king along the edge, names the technique's signature.
Origin
Analyzed since Philidor's era; the systematic corner-herding method (Delétang's triangles, the W path) was codified in the 19th–20th centuries.
The story
The final boss of basic checkmates. Two minor pieces CAN force mate against a lone king — but only in a corner the bishop's color controls, and the defending king, knowing this, flees to the WRONG corner first. The winning method — trap the king on the edge, then escort it along the rank with the knight tracing a "W" while the bishop closes each escape hatch in turn — takes up to thirty-three precise moves against best defense, with the fifty-move rule ticking. Its fame is fed by schadenfreude: strong grandmasters have failed it on live broadcast, whole careers carry the asterisk of a KBN half-botched, and every coach uses it as the rite of passage between knowing the pieces and commanding them.
Why it matters
Beyond its rare occurrence, it is THE training ground for piece coordination — three pieces working as one organism with zero margin for error. Completing it once changes how a player sees minor pieces forever.
Notable games
- Epishin–Ye Jiangchuan, Bled Olympiad 2002 (a famous GM failure to mate)
- Countless online rating-list dramas