Rook Endgame: The Limit of the Vancura Defence
Black to play and draw, after Romanovsky, 1950
PlayThe same pawn on a6, but his king already stands on f4, one step closer. Rf1+ now comes one tempo too late, and only two moves hold: Rc1 and Ra5. The rule: if your rook can reach the sixth rank with a check, play it. If it cannot, slow his king down, go back behind the pawn when his rook leaves a8, and bring your king across.
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One Tempo Too Late for Vancura
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.
Rf1+ fails here. After Ke5 Rf6, he plays Rg8+: Kxg8 Kxf6, and nothing stops the pawn.
Vancura's defence has a range. Move the attacking king one square closer and the immediate Rf1+ no longer works, so the rook has to reach its side post another way.
Cut the king off. With the white king on f4, Rc1 is the move: it denies the king the c-file and with it the route to b6 and b7, where it would free the rook from a8.
Then switch. Once White's rook leaves a8, go back behind the pawn on a1. When his rook takes over the defence from the side, hit the pawn from the side yourself with Ra5. Bring the king across all the while.
The family rule. Across every position of this type, one check decides your workload: if your rook can reach its sideways post with check, play it and stop calculating. If it cannot, the setup alone is not enough, so you must also slow the enemy king down or join the race to the queenside with your own king.
In this drill the passive a-file moves all lose. Only Rc1 and Ra5 hold the balance.
Keep going
Rook Behind the Pawn on the Seventh: the Defender Holds
Black to play and draw
Rook Behind the Passed Pawn
White to play and win
The Frontal Defense
Black to play and draw
All 96 rook endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)