Queen vs Rook: Philidor's Position and the Winning Triangulation

White to play and win, after Philidor

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This is the setup you need to know how to reach. Black's king is on b8, the rook is right beside it on b7, and if Black were to move, every legal move would lose. The catch is simple: it is your move, not Black's.

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Philidor's Position: Winning Queen versus Rook

White to play and win · Win against perfect defense

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The theory

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Philidor, 1777: attacking king on c6, queen on a5, defending king on b8, rook on b7. This is mutual zugzwang. With Black to move, Black is lost. With White to move, nothing works yet. A rook next to its own king is not a shelter, it is a zugzwang waiting to happen.

A queen beats a rook, but not by force. The win runs through one exact picture.

The target: Philidor, 1777. White king c6, queen a5, black king b8, rook b7, Black to move. Every legal black move loses: the king steps into a decisive check, and every rook move separates the rook from its king.

Triangulation. With White to move the position gives nothing, so the queen loses a tempo: Qe5+ Ka7 Qa1+ Kb8 Qa5. Three queen squares against two king squares, and the move has changed hands.

The finish. After the most tenacious Rb1 comes Qd8+ Ka7 Qd4+ Ka8 Qh8+ Ka7 Qh7+, a double attack: check on the seventh rank, and the rook on b1 falls on the h7-b1 diagonal.

The lesson to carry. A rook next to its own king is exactly what the attacker is aiming for. The rook survives only when it can check without pause, as in Ponziani's draw.

Keep going

Two Protected Squares, No Zugzwang

White to play and draw

The Rook Pawn on the Seventh: Only One Protected Square

White to play and win

The Rook Pawn on the Sixth: A Break-in That Wins Nothing

White to play and draw

All 19 queen vs rook positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)