A Knight Chases Down the h-Pawn

White to play and draw

Play

With your king marooned in the corner, the knight must single-handedly halt a rook pawn escorted by the enemy king. Find the blockade square and the ending is a draw.

No signup needed. The opponent never gives up, and every mistake gets explained.

A Knight Chases Down the h-Pawn

Hold the draw against perfect play

Waking the engine…

The theory

A knight can draw against a rook pawn even when the enemy king escorts it, provided the knight reaches a controlling square in time.

Race to the key square. Calculate the shortest knight route to a square that blocks the pawn or covers its promotion square. Tempo is everything here.

Avoid the trap squares. The enemy king will try to attack your knight and rob it of a safe hop. Keep the knight where it always has an escape that maintains the blockade.

In this drill the defender must find precise knight moves. Get the blockade right and the half point is secure.

Keep going

Follow the full curriculum (free)