The Pinned Bishop That Decided Navara vs Abdusattorov

Photo: TheBoburshokh / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Look at the white bishop on c2. A black rook on a2 is aiming along the same row at the white king on g2, and the bishop is standing in between. Only one white piece protects the bishop: the rook on c4.

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Position after 52...Ke6, with White to move. The bishop on c2 is pinned to the king on g2 by the rook on a2, and only the rook on c4 defends it.

Analyze this position in the full game

For 52 moves this game had been level. Then White played one pawn move that did not deal with that bishop, and the game was lost.

David Navara 0-1 Nodirbek Abdusattorov Prague International Chess Festival 2026 · Masters, Round 8 White: David Navara (2628) · Black: Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2751)

An equal game for a long time

The game began as a Queen's Gambit Accepted: Black took the pawn White offered on c4.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 b5 6.e5 Nd5 7.Nxb5

White won back the pawn by taking on b5, so material was even again. Both players then developed, traded knights and later traded queens. Our own Stockfish 16 run, at depth 18, kept the evaluation within about a third of a pawn of zero from move 15 until move 52. That means neither side was really winning.

After the queens came off on move 34, this was the position.

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Position after 34...Rxc6, with White to move. Each side has a rook, a bishop and five pawns. White's bishop moves on light squares and Black's on dark squares.

Analyze this position in the full game

The two bishops move on different colours, so they can never attack each other. Endgames like this are often drawn. But they still have to be played carefully, move by move.

How the bishop got pinned

51.Rc4 Ra2+ 52.Bc2

Black's rook gave check along the second row. White blocked the check by putting the bishop on c2. That solved the check, but now the bishop was pinned: it cannot move, because moving it would put its own king in check.

A pinned piece is a weak piece. It cannot run away if it is attacked. So White had to keep defending it, or get the king off the second row to break the pin.

After 52...Ke6, our engine liked three White moves almost equally. 53.Rc6+ gives a check. 53.Kh3 and 53.Kf1 both take the king off the second row, so the bishop is no longer pinned. All three kept the game about level.

The pawn move that lost

53.g4

This move does nothing about the pin. White still had eight minutes on the clock, and Black had about six. Now watch what the black king does.

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Position after 53.g4, with Black to move. The bishop on c2 is still pinned and still has only one defender, the rook on c4.

Analyze this position in the full game

53...Kd5

The king attacks the rook on c4. The rook has to move. But the rook is the only piece guarding the bishop, so it has to stay on the c-file to keep guarding it.

54.Rc3 Kd4

The king steps forward and attacks the rook again. Kings are very strong in endgames, because there are fewer pieces left that can attack them.

55.Rc6 Bc5

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Position after 55...Bc5, with White to move. The black bishop on c5 stands between the white rook on c6 and the bishop on c2, so the rook no longer protects it.

Analyze this position in the full game

This is a clever move. The black bishop steps onto c5, right between the white rook and the white bishop. Now the rook on c6 cannot see c2 at all. Chess players call this interference: you put a piece in the way of the line between a defender and what it defends.

56.Rxg6 Rxc2+

White took a pawn, but Black took the bishop with check. From here Black was a full piece ahead in the endgame. Our engine rated the position more than four pawns in Black's favour.

The finish

57.Kg3 fxg4 58.a5 Rb2 59.Rxg4+ Kc3 60.b6 Bxb6 61.axb6 axb6 62.Rf4 b5 63.Rf3+ Kb4 64.Kf4 Re2

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Final position, after 64...Re2. Black has a rook and a passed b-pawn against a lone rook, and the white king is far from the pawn. White resigned.

Analyze this position in the full game

Black gave back the bishop to wipe out White's queenside pawns. What was left was a rook and a passed pawn against a rook, with the black king right next to its pawn and the white king far away. White resigned.

What this game teaches

1. A pinned piece needs a plan. Blocking a check with a piece often pins it. Once that happens, either break the pin (move the king off the line) or make sure the piece is defended for good.

2. Count the defenders. The bishop on c2 had one defender. When the enemy king started chasing that defender, White had no second one to bring in.

3. The king is a fighting piece in the endgame. Black's king walked from e6 to d5 to d4, attacking the rook each time. In the middlegame that would be dangerous. In the endgame it won the game.

4. Block the line between a defender and its target. 55...Bc5 cut the rook off from the bishop it was guarding. That idea is called interference.

5. Level for a long time does not mean safe. The engine had this game close to equal for almost forty moves. It took one move that ignored a pinned piece to decide it.