F- and H-Pawns vs Rook: Beating the Back-Rank King
White to play and win
PlayBoth your pawns stand on the sixth rank and the enemy king is stuck on the back rank. This is the winning picture in the f- and h-pawn ending, and you cash it with a king walk: step out of the checks and march up the board away from the enemy king, across to e8.
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F- and H-Pawns Beat the Back-Rank King
White to play and win · Win against perfect defense
Waking the engine…
The theory
Rook and two pawns against a rook is often only a draw, but one picture wins cleanly: both pawns on the sixth rank with the defending king cut off on the back rank. The win is a king march.
Walk out of the checks. Black can only give check, so the attacking king steps off the pawns' file and marches up the board, using its own pawns and rook as shelter. Once the king is close enough, h7 with check and Rb8 pry the defender loose, and a pawn runs in to promote.
Two cautions. Near the edge, stalemate is a genuine danger with the defender down to a lone rook, so count each quiet move. And the pawns must advance in the right order: the rook pawn reaches the sixth before the bishop pawn. Reverse it and the win disappears.
In this drill Black checks from every angle. Walk the king across to e8, keep the pawns in the right order, and bring one home.
Keep going
The e6 Wedge: Two Pawns Beat One
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Rook vs Advanced Pawn
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The Lucena Position
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All 96 rook endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)