Connected Passed Pawns vs Rook: The Win
White to play and win, after Topalov vs Beliavsky, 1995
PlayTopalov against Beliavsky, Linares 1995. The pawns do not move first, the king does. It walks to a7, where its own pawn on a6 shields it from every rook check.
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Connected Passers: Shelter Behind Your Own Pawn
White to play and win · Win against perfect defense
Waking the engine…
The theory
Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.
Count the checks. Out in the open, your king gets harassed and the pawns never get moving. Pushing with b6 or a7 only draws. The a6 pawn is not the runner here, it is the wall: behind it, on a7, your king cannot be checked at all.
Topalov beat Beliavsky at Linares in 1995 with a technique worth keeping: against a rook, your king needs a shelter, and one of your own pawns can be it.
Do not push. Both b6 and a7 throw the win away. Only Kb6 wins, and the a6 pawn does not move at all.
The shield. The king walks to a7. Its own pawn on a6 blocks the a-file, the rook has no check anywhere, and only now can the b-pawn advance in peace.
The finish. b6, b7, and when the rook comes to b1, b8=Q sacrifices the new queen: Rxb8 Kxb8 leaves a pawn ending the a-pawn wins by itself.
Send the rear pawn. Notice which pawn runs: the one further from promotion. Two reasons. The rook stands on the a-file, so the b-pawn advances unopposed while its brother would walk straight into the rook's sights. And the pawn you keep after selling the runner for the rook is the a-pawn, the one furthest from the black king, so catching its tail is hardest. Picking the right runner is half the technique, and picking the wrong one, or moving too soon, throws the win away.
Keep going
The Rook Belongs Behind the Leading Pawn
White to play and win
Rook Against Separated Pawns
White to play and draw
Three Files Apart: The Rook Is Overloaded
Black to play and win
All 96 rook endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)