Rook and Pawn vs Rook: Pawn on the Seventh

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

The pawn on the seventh with the king in front of it is the winning heart of rook endgames, the position all the technique funnels toward.

The problem. Your king shelters on the promotion square, but the defending rook checks it forever from a distance, and stepping out invites more checks.

The bridge. Place your rook on the fourth rank. When the king walks out and the checks come, the rook drops in to block, forming a roof of rook and king under which the pawn queens.

A second method, and its limit. The bridge answers checks that come from behind, down the file. Checks from the side, along the rank, have their own cure: transfer the rook far across the board and let the king shelter behind it as it steps toward the pawn. That second method needs a centre pawn, though; with a knight pawn only the bridge works, so learn the bridge first.

In this drill the defender checks without ever letting up, so set the bridge before you march the king; abandon the plan and the checks never end.