Cut Off by Two Files: King First, Pawn Last
White to play and win
PlayThe black king is stranded on g5, cut off from the pawn by your rook on the f-file. That distance is what wins, not the pawn: it will not move for ten moves.
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Cut Off by Two Files: King First, Pawn Last
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.
Your rook cuts the black king off two files from the pawn. It does not need to check, it needs to stay. And do not touch the pawn: 1.d5? is not a winning move.
Cutting the enemy king off is the sharpest weapon in rook endings. When the cut is wide enough, even a pawn short of the mid-line wins, and the pawn is the last thing you touch.
The cut does the work. The rook on the f-file keeps the black king two files away from the pawn. Leave it there. Pushing the pawn at once with 1.d5 throws the win away.
Walk at the checks. After 1.Kc4 the black rook checks from the side. Meet every check by stepping toward the rook: Kb5, Kc5, Kb6. The checking rook has to keep returning to the d-file to stop the pawn, so the checks buy the defender nothing.
The pawn moves last. Once your king has reached c6 or c7, the rook drops back behind the pawn (Rd1) and only then does the pawn run.
In this drill the defense will fight to bring its king back. Hold the cut, march the king, push last.
Keep going
Zugzwang Against a King on the Edge
White to play and win
Knight Pawn: Two Files of Cut Is Not Enough
White to play and draw
King Trapped in Front of the Rook Pawn
White to play and draw
All 83 rook endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)