The Bad Bishop is a notorious villain in chess, but often a perfectly respectable bishop is falsely accused. The Secret Life of Bad Bishops takes an in-depth look at the bishop - not just dealing with good and bad bishops but also more nuanced cases where a “double-edged bishop” could turn out to be a game-winning hero or a fatal liability. All phases of chess are covered, from opening to middlegame to endgame. The final two chapters test the reader’s newly enhanced understanding with carefully chosen exercises and instructive solutions.

Esben Lund, an International Master from Denmark, is a respected author and coach. His first book for Quality Chess, Rook vs. Two Minor Pieces, earned excellent reviews.

Content:
007 Preface

009 1. Introducing the Double-edged Bishop - Definitions and Limitations

009 1.1 Three opening lines with DEBs

010 1.1.1 The Rubinstein Nimzo-Indian

011 1.1.2 The Berlin Wall

012 1.1.3 The Advance French

013 1.2 Other important factors

014 1.3 Limitations to positions with DEBs

015 1.3.1. Positions with DEB relevance

017 1.4 More about the DEB: Alekhine -Yates

024 1.5 More complex examples

027 1.5.1 Bishop vs. knight

029 1.5.2 Two examples from John Watson

031 1.5.3 A modern grandmaster game: Radjabov - Eljanov

039 1.6 Chapter recap

041 2. The Exchange Sacrifice

042 2.1 Case 1: Rook takes DEB - the breakthrough

044 2.2 Case 2: Exchange sacrifice to strengthen the DEB

046 2.3 Case 3: Exchange sacrifice to weaken the DEB

059 2.4 Chapter recap

061 3. From Opening to Early Middlegame - The Advance French

061 3.1 Guiding questions

062 3.2 Theoretical overview

067 3.3 Chernin’s 9...Bb4!?

068 3.3.1 The solid 11.Bxc3

070 3.3.2 The double-edged 11.bxc3!?

071 3.4 White allows ...g5

072 3.5 Other positions

078 3.6 Answers to questions

086 3.7 Variation Index

088 3.8 Chapter recap

089 4. Endgame Section

089 4.1 Rook vs. bishop

092 4.1.1 Fortress positions

097 4.1.2 Fortress-like Position (FLP)

098 4.1.3 Fire on Board

100 4.1.4 Complex endgame examples

111 4.2 Bishop vs. knight

111 4.2.1 Zugzwang

114 4.2.2 The other factors:

114 4.2.2.1 The rook’s pawn

116 4.2.2.2 The knight dominates

119 4.2.2.3 King and pawn space

122 4.2.3 Good technique

122 4.2.3.1 Pawns and bishop on the same colour

123 4.2.3.2 Bishop check that forces the king to choose a side

124 4.2.3.3 Counterplay is allowed

128 4.2.4 Worst-case scenarios

130 4.2.4.1 Creative Chess Strategy

132 4.2.5 The bishop pair vs. bishop and knight

137 4.2.6 Chapter recap

137 4.2.6.1 Rook vs. bishop

138 4.2.6.2 Bishop vs. knight

141 5. Exercises

141 Introduction

143 Exercises 1-30

151 6. Solutions

187 Games Index

189 Index of Studies and Positions

190 Name Index