Rook Against Rook and Bishop: Holding the Draw
Black to play and draw
PlayRook and bishop versus rook is one of the great defensive tests: the extra piece is not enough to win against accurate play. Your job with the lone rook is to reach a fortress and refuse to be dislodged.
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Rook Against Rook and Bishop: Holding the Draw
Hold the draw against perfect play
Waking the engine…
The theory
Rook and bishop versus rook is famous for being drawn in theory yet brutally hard to defend at the board. The attacker needs long, precise maneuvering, and the defender needs to know exactly where to stand.
The safe corner. A bishop only covers one color of squares. Head for the corner of the opposite color: there the bishop cannot control the corner square or the escape flights, so no mating net forms.
The Cochrane defense. Position your rook so it pins the attacker's rook against its own king. With the enemy rook frozen, the bishop alone cannot make progress, and you hold.
In this drill the attacker plays tablebase-perfect technique and will punish a drifting king or a passive rook. Find the right corner, keep your rook active, and the half point is yours.