Philidor Position: The Drawing Defense in Rook Endgames
Black to play and draw
PlayYour king blocks in front of the pawn, and now the rook needs its post. Philidor's defense, the most important drawing method in all of rook endings, puts it on the sixth rank, the third counted from your own side, where it keeps the enemy king out.
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Philidor's Defense on the Fifth
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.
Keep your king directly in front of the pawn. As long as the enemy king cannot reach the sixth rank ahead of the pawn, there is no way to break the blockade.
If you learn one defensive technique in rook endings, make it Philidor. It saves half a point in the most common material on the board.
Hold the rank. The defending rook sits on the rank in front of the pawn (the third rank from the defender's side), stopping the enemy king from advancing to the sixth. The king stays in front of the pawn. Nothing progresses.
Then check from behind. The attacker's only try is to push the pawn, but that abandons the shelter of its own king. Now the rook drops to the back and checks from the rear; with no cover, the enemy king can never escape the checks.
In this drill the attacker will probe for a way through. Keep the king in front, hold the rank, and switch to rear checks the moment the pawn moves.
Keep going
The Fifth-Rank Fortress: 1.Kf6 Does Not Win
White to play and draw
Rook Behind the Pawn, King to the Side
Black to play and draw
Knight Pawn: The Long Side or Nothing
Black to play and draw
All 96 rook endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)