Knight and Pawns Endgame: The Dead Rook Pawns
Black to play and draw
PlayThe h-pawns are locked head to head and will never move again. So White's only real target is your c5-pawn, and even that is not a reason to panic.
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Locked Rook Pawns, Spare Pawn
Black 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.
Your h3-pawn and White's h2-pawn block each other for good. Neither pawn can advance, so the h-file is dead. The only thing White can attack is the c5-pawn.
Before you calculate, look for pawns that can never move. They decide how much a material count is really worth.
Dead pawns, dead file. A pawn on h3 facing a pawn on h2 is a mutual blockade. Neither side can ever break through there, so both pawns are, in effect, off the board.
The c-pawn is expendable. With the kingside frozen, the only asset White has is your c5-pawn. Defending it with 1...Ne4 is simplest, but giving it up also holds: 1...Kg7 2.Kxc5 Kf6 and your king returns to guard h3 while the knight covers the entry squares.
In this drill White will grab what it can and then try to break in. Keep the king in touch with the kingside and there is no way through.
Keep going
Knight and Pawn vs Knight
White to play and win
Choosing the Barrier Square with King Support
White to play and draw
Lateral Control of the Promotion Square
White to play and draw
All 21 knight endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)