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The general principle for a beginner to follow is to keep his King as much as possible on the same rank, or, as in this case, file, as the opposing King.
one of the cardinal principles of the high strategy of chess— A unit that holds two.
White with the two Knights can only stalemate the King, unless Black has a Pawn which can be moved.
Of course, there is an extra source of weakness for White in having his Pawns on the same colour-squares as his Bishop. This is a mistake often made by players. The proper way, generally, in an ending, is to have your Pawns on squares of opposite colour to that of your own Bishop. When you have your Pawns on squares of the same colour the action of your own Bishop is limited by them, and consequently the value of the Bishop is diminished, since the value of a piece can often be measured by the number of squares it commands. While on this subject, I shall also call attention to the fact that it
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I might say generally, however, that the proper course in these endings, as in all similar endings, is: Advance of the King to the centre of the board or towards the passed Pawns, or Pawns that are susceptible of being attacked, and rapid advance of the passed Pawn or Pawns as far as is consistent with their safety.
To give a fixed line of play would be folly. Each ending is different, and requires different handling, according to what the adversary proposes to do. Calculation by visualising the future positions is what will count.
With a Knight and a Bishop the mate can only be given in the corners of the same colour as the Bishop.
The winning of a Pawn among good players of even strength often means the winning of the game.
The student should note, in all these middle-game positions, that— once the opportunity is offered, all the pieces are thrown into action "en masse" when necessary; and that all the pieces smoothly co-ordinate their action with machine-like precision.
He only relinquishes the initiative when he gets for it some material advantage under such favourable conditions as to make him feel assured that he will, in turn, be able to withstand his adversary's thrust;
Direct and violent attacks against the King must be carried en masse, with full force, to ensure their success. The opposition must be overcome at all cost; the attack cannot be broken off, since in all such cases that means defeat.
The move in itself is a very strong attacking move, but it is isolated, and there is
no effective continuation. Such advances as a rule should only be made when they can be followed by a concerted action of the pieces.
The winning tactics in all these endings have merely consisted in keeping the opponent's Rooks tied to the defence of one or more Pawns, leaving my own Rooks free for action.
Keep freedom of manœuvre while hampering your opponent.
control of the centre was an essential condition to a successful attack against the King.
a passed Pawn increases in strength as the number of pieces on the board diminishes.
Its good features are that it keeps the centre intact without creating any particular weakness, and that it gives plenty of opportunity for deep and concealed manœuvring.
