Rook Cut Along a Rank: Holding the Draw One Rank Ahead
Black to play and draw
PlayHis rook on h6 keeps your king off the sixth rank, but your king on e5 stands one rank ahead of the pawn on c4, not level with it. With you to move, that is enough to draw. The rule: put your rook on the file next to the pawn, the b-file, before his rook gets there, then wait.
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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
Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.
Every move but one loses here. Watch Rc7: his rook takes the b-file with Rb6, his king comes to b4 beside the pawn, c5 follows, and White wins.
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)