Rook Endgame: f- and h-Pawns That Do Not Win
White to play and draw
PlayBoth pawns are far advanced and your pieces are active, but the gap on the g-file still stands between you and the win. Your last try is to commit: push the h-pawn, let it go, and play for the f-pawn alone. The rule that saves him: when a pawn reaches its sixth rank, his king steps in front of it, and against the lone f-pawn his rook checks from the long side, the a-file.
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Giving Up the h-Pawn to Push the f-Pawn
White 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.
Two extra pawns separated by an empty file are worth far less than two connected ones. They cannot cover each other, so the defender splits his pieces between them.
The right try. Push h6 with check to drive the king back, then let the h-pawn go and switch your king and rook to the f-pawn. That is the practical plan, and it is what a strong attacker plays.
Why it still holds. The defender's rook keeps maximum checking distance behind the pawn and his king covers the queening path, so the lone f-pawn never gets through.
In this drill you press correctly and learn the limit of the structure at the same time.
Keep going
Lasker's Idea: Check, Then Capture
White to play and win
Active Defence: Walk the King to the Passer
Black to play and draw
Self-Propelled Pawns Against a Counter-Runner
White to play and draw
All 96 rook endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)