Rook and Pawn vs Bishop and Pawn: Zugzwang on the Rim
White to play and win, after Kasparov - Yusupov, Linares 1993
PlayRook and pawn against bishop and pawn, with both pawns on the a-file. The bishop has to guard the a4 pawn, so it is tied down. The rule: do not chase the king with checks. Take away its squares and hand Black the move, until every move he has loses something.
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Play for Zugzwang, Not a Breakthrough
White to play and win · Win against perfect defense
Waking the engine…
The theory
Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.
The natural check throws the win away. After Re7+ Kc8 the tablebase already calls it a draw: the check pushed the king but took no squares from it.
The same lesson as the previous rook-pawn ending, from a Kasparov game: the correct plan is zugzwang, not driving the enemy king away.
Find the chained piece. The black bishop cannot leave the a4 pawn's diagonal. It has three squares and no freedom. A piece with no free moves is a zugzwang target.
Lose a tempo. Your rook shuttles along the d-file (d8, d4, d7) while your king goes b5 to c6 to b6, two moves to reach a square one step away, losing exactly one tempo on purpose. Black, who has no spare tempo, must break something.
Precision matters immediately. Only four moves win from the start, and Rd8 is the one. Re7+, Rb8+, Ka5, Kc5 and Kb4 all draw.
In this drill the defence never cracks. Do not chase. Squeeze, triangulate, and hand over the move.
Keep going
The Colour Barrier You Cannot Cross
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Give the Bishop, Reach Rook Against Pawn
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Rook vs Knight: The Stranded Horse
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All 30 rook vs minor positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)