Queen vs Rook: Philidor's Position and the Winning Triangulation
White to play and win, after Philidor
PlayYour king on c6 and queen on a5 face his king on b8 and rook on b7. If Black had to move here, every move would lose, and a rook moving away from its king would fall to a double attack. The rule: when the setup is right but it is your move, give the move away with a queen triangle. Then chase the loose rook with checks until one check also attacks it.
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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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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 there is no quick kill, 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)