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= ...Basic endgames with fairy chess pieces
In this page we enumerate the most simple pawnless endgames involving fairy chess pieces, and describe which are winnable and in how many moves. This is an extension of the Basic endgames page; some parts of that are repeated, but for the full details, see that page.
The following fairy chess pieces are used:
| Name | Appearance and meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chancellor | = + | It has roughly the same strength as the queen, it is perhaps just a bit weaker. |
| Archbishop | = + | Stronger than the rook, and weaker than the queen and the chancellor – its value is somewhere in the middle of these. |
| Superqueen | = + | The strongest piece, far stronger than even the queen. |
| Short rook | = ≤ 4 | In the endgame, it is similar to the rook in strength, just a bit weaker than that, and much stronger than the bishop and the knight. |
| Nightrider | = ... | In the endgame, it is just a bit stronger than the knight, and much weaker than the rook. |
See also: Chess variants with fairy chess pieces.
Description to the tables:
2. Checkmates with two minor pieces
| Pieces | Result | Chance, moves (?) – 8x8 | Chance, moves (?) – 10x8 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
   | Win | 100% – 4 – 1.8 | 100% – 5 – 2.0 | Very easy mate. The superqueen can checkmate even without the help of its king. |
 | Win | 100% – 10 – 5.6 | 100% – 11 – 6.4 | Easy mate. |
 | Win | 100% – 11 – 6.7 | 100% – 13 – 7.8 | Easy mate. |
 | Win | 100% – 16 – 9.9 | 100% – 19 – 11.4 | Easy mate. |
 | Win | 100% – 17 – 10.9 | 100% – 20 – 13.2 | Easy mate, similar to the rook. |
 | Win | 100% – 17 – 11.6 | 100% – 21 – 14.4 | Relatively easy. |
 | Draw | No mate. | ||
 | Draw | No mate. | ||
 | Draw | No mate. |
| Pieces | Result | Chance, moves (?) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| | Win | 99.98% – 19 – 12.5 | Relatively easy. Precondition: the two bishops have different field colours. |
| | Win | 99.51% – 33 – 24.7 | Difficult. Checkmate can only be forced in the "right" corners, i.e. which have the same field colour as the bishop moves on. |
| | Win | 99.70% – 22 – 14.7 | Not too difficult. Checkmate can be forced in all corners. |
| | Draw | 0.01% – 1 – 1.0 | Checkmate exists, but cannot be forced. |
| | Win | 99.58% – 27 – 18.5 | Not too difficult. |
| | Win | 99.57% – 22 – 15.7 | Not too difficult. |
| Pieces | Result | Chance, moves (?) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| | Win | 99.69% – 12 – 3.2 | Relatively easy. |
| | Win | 99.35% – 19 – 3.3 | Relatively easy. |
| | Win | 98.0% – 26 – 4.2 | Not too difficult, but the attacker needs to pay attention to the nightrider, which can give checks and forks very flexibly. |
| | Win | 98.35% – 13 – 3.2 | Relatively easy. |
| | Win | 99.60% – 14 – 3.3 | Relatively easy. |
| | Win | 99.00% – 32 – 13.5 | Difficult. |
| | Win | 99.54% – 22 – 5.7 | Difficult. |
| | Draw | 35.1% – 18 – 1.4 | Usually the defender king can reach one of the safe corners (the corners with different colour than the bishop's field), then the game is drawn. The stronger side has winning chances only in the right corners. |
| | Draw | 48.3% – 27 – 2.6 | Usually draw, but the stronger side has winning chances, for example when the knight is far away from the king, and can be trapped. |
| | Draw | 34.1% – 9 – 1.2 | Usually draw, only winnable in special cases (e.g. in direct mate threat). |
| | Draw | 28.1% – 11 – 1.2 | Usually draw, but the stronger side has sometimes winning chances near to the right corners (with the bishop's field colour). |
| | Draw | 40.4% – 41 – 3.2 | Usually draw, but the stronger side has winning chances in some cases. |
| | Win | 99.06% – 12 – 1.7 28.5% – 3 – 1.0 | Easy. |
| | Win | 99.01% – 31 – 7.6 28.7% – 3 – 1.0 | Very difficult. |
| | Draw | 76.1% – 40 – 3.8 28.8% – 3 – 1.0 | Sometimes it is possible to win. However, it is usually very difficult. |
| | Draw | 47.5% – 14 – 1.6 33.1% – 6 – 1.2 | Usually neither side can win, but both has winning positions, especially when the other king is trapped in the corner. |
| | Draw | 29.1% – 4 – 1.0 29.1% – 4 – 1.0 | Despite the equality of material, the side to move might have winning chances. |
| | Win | 99.60% – 10 – 1.5 23.9% – 2 – 1.0 | Easy. |
| | Win | 99.56% – 24 – 5.0 23.9% – 2 – 1.0 | Very difficult (not much easier than against rook). |
| | Draw | 29.5% – 8 – 1.1 24.0% – 4 – 1.0 | Usually draw, but the side to move might have winning chances (the rook has a little bit more). |
| | Draw | 24.1% – 5 – 1.0 24.1% – 5 – 1.0 | Despite the equality of material, the side to move might have winning chances. |
| | Win | 98.57% – 22 – 1.9 28.2% – 5 – 1.0 | Easy win. Sometimes the archbishop may have chance to slow down the win by checks, or rarely it can even draw by perpetual checks. |
| | Draw | 64.9% – 21 – 1.6 34.7% – 5 – 1.2 | The archbishop can usually draw by perpetual checks, but the queen has significant winning chances if that side moves without being in check. |
| | Draw | 62.7% – 16 – 1.9 38.2% – 8 – 1.3 | The archbishop can usually draw by perpetual checks, but the chancellor has significant winning chances if that side moves without being in check. |
| | Draw | 29.3% – 9 – 1.0 29.3% – 9 – 1.0 | Despite the equality of material, the side to move might have winning chances. |
| | Draw | 88.0% – 23 – 1.8 35.8% – 7 – 1.0 | There is no general winning strategy, the chancellor can usually hold the draw by perpetual checks, but the stronger side has significant winning chances if that side moves without being in check. |
| | Draw | 58.4% – 12 – 1.5 49.2% – 12 – 1.5 | Usually draw, but the side to move has notable winning chances (the queen has a little bit more). |
| | Draw | 36.6% – 10 – 1.1 36.6% – 10 – 1.1 | Despite the equality of material, the side to move has notable winning chances. |
| | Draw | 80.8% – 30 – 1.6 41.3% – 7 – 1.1 | There is no general winning strategy, the queen can usually hold the draw by perpetual checks, but the stronger side has significant winning chances if that side moves without being in check. |
| | Draw | 41.7% – 10 – 1.1 41.7% – 10 – 1.1 | Despite the equality of material, the side to move has notable winning chances. |
| | Draw | 66.1% – 11 – 1.3 66.1% – 11 – 1.3 | Despite the equality of material, the side to move has significant winning chances. |