Lasker's Idea: Check, Then Capture

White to play and win

Your c-pawn is one step from queening, but the enemy has a runner of its own on h2. Lasker's idea wins with the quiet Kb8: renew the queening threat, then ladder the enemy king down with side checks until your rook takes h2 with tempo.

New to this ending? Learn the method first: Rook Endgames

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

Lasker's Idea: Check, Then Capture

White to play and win · Win against perfect defense

Waking the engine…

The theory

Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.

Lasker's idea is a famous resource in rook endings where both sides have a dangerous passed pawn.

The quiet king move first. The immediate rook check only draws; stepping the king off the pin renews the queening threat and forces the defender to check on your terms.

Then the ladder. Each side check from your rook drives the enemy king one rank lower, and each time his rook must run back to stop the pawn. When his king reaches the second rank, your rook takes on h2 with tempo and the c-pawn decides.

In this drill you execute Lasker's idea against perfect defense, eliminating the counterplay and queening your own pawn.

Keep going

Smyslov's Method: The Rook Goes Back

White to play and draw

Vaisser's Defence on the g-File

White to play and draw

Self-Propelled Pawns Against a Counter-Runner

White to play and draw

All 83 rook endgames positions Follow the full curriculum (free)