Rook Endgame Defense: Hold the Queening Square
White to play and draw
PlayThis time you are the one without a pawn. Your rook guards c1, the square the pawn is heading for, and the position is a draw, but only by one tempo. The rule: keep the rook far away on the first rank, and make every king move bring your king closer to the pawn.
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Rook on the First Rank, King to the Rescue
White 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.
The game went Ke2?, and the white king was too far away. The black king reached a3, two squares diagonally from the pawn, the rook took over guarding the pawn from d5, and White lost.
Kochiev against Smyslov: a rook ending a pawn down, objectively drawn, and lost inside a dozen moves. The margin in these positions is one tempo wide.
The rook covers the queening square. From the first rank the rook guards c1 along the rank, so a1, b1, f1, g1 and h1 all hold the pawn. What it cannot do is stray onto the black rook's file or the one beside it: Rd1 hangs to Rxd1, and Re1 loses to Re7+.
The king has to come. 1.Ke4 keeps the draw. The game move 1.Ke2 loses: the king drifts away from the pawn and never catches up. Defending against a passed pawn, every king move should shorten the distance.
Short of the mid-line. The pawn on c5 is still on its own half of the board. That is what buys your king the time to arrive, and it is only enough if you actually spend it.
In this drill the attacker will try to escort the pawn. Keep the rook at range on the first rank and march the king.
Keep going
Cut, Shoulder, Check, Push
White to play and win
One Tempo Saves the Draw: Only Kd5
Black to play and draw
Cut Off by Two Files: King First, Pawn Last
White to play and win
All 96 rook endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)