Zigzag Meets the Rook Pawn
White to play and draw
PlayBoth sides will make a queen, but the enemy pawn is a rook pawn, and the zigzag technique that normally wins the pawn ending runs straight into the corner stalemate. Hold the draw.
No signup needed. The opponent never gives up, and every mistake gets explained.
Zigzag Meets the Rook Pawn
Hold the draw against perfect play
Waking the engine…
The theory
The zigzag that hunts down most pawns has one glaring blind spot: the rook pawn. This ending shows the technique meeting its limit.
The failure. Driving the defending king in front of an a-pawn produces stalemate the moment you approach, exactly as in the pure queen-versus-pawn draw. The queen can never pocket a tempo, so the king never arrives.
The practical takeaway. When you see the enemy pawn is a rook pawn, do not spend moves chasing a win that the geometry forbids. Recognize the draw early.
In this drill you hold the stronger-looking side yet the position is dead level. Learn to spot the rook-pawn exception before you overpress.