Rook Cut Along a Rank: Holding the Draw One Rank Ahead
Black to play and draw
PlayYour king is cut off along a rank by that rook, but look closer. You stand one rank ahead of the pawn, not level with it, and that single rank turns the cut from deadly into harmless. Grab the file right next to the pawn and the draw is yours.
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Cut Off One Rank Ahead of the Pawn
Black to play and draw · Hold the draw against perfect play
Waking the engine…
The theory
A rook cut along a rank is only as strong as the pawn behind it. The one question that decides everything is where the cut-off king stands: level with the pawn, or one rank ahead of it.
Level, or one rank ahead. With the king on the same rank as the pawn, the cut bites and usually wins. With the king one rank ahead, it does not, and the defender holds by taking the file next to the pawn at once. Here that is Rb8: the rook settles beside the c-pawn and shadows every step it takes, while the king waits alongside, ready to step up next to the pawn.
In this drill White will push the pawn and try to widen the cut. Keep the rook on the b-file, bring the king up beside each new pawn square, and the extra pawn comes to nothing.
Keep going
The Outside Passer: Play Where You Are a Piece Up
White to play and win
Lucena's Limit: The Rook Pawn
Black to play and draw
The Saavedra Study
White to play and win
All 96 rook endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)