Rook vs Pawn Endgame: Winning the Race
White to play and win
PlayA rook alone cannot always win a pawn escorted by the enemy king, so the plan is to bring your king. Your rook guards the queening square from a distance, and your king walks to the pawn and takes it. Before each move, ask: does my king get closer to the pawn while my rook still guards c1?
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Rook vs Advanced Pawn
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.
His king on c3 stands in front of its own pawn, so the pawn cannot move until the king steps aside. Your rook on a1 already guards c1, the queening square. Now your king has to come.
Rook versus pawn looks trivial (a whole rook!) and produces an astonishing number of half-point tragedies, because a pawn on the sixth or seventh escorted by its king is genuinely fast.
The principles. (1) Your king matters most: measure whether it reaches the queening scene in time, and start running immediately if in doubt. (2) The rook harasses from BEHIND the pawn or from the side: checks that force the escorting king to step in front of its own pawn each gain a full tempo. (3) Cut the king off from the pawn when it lags: a rook fence between king and pawn strands the pawn entirely.
When it's won and when it isn't. With the attacking king close enough, the rook simply wins the pawn. With the defending duo too advanced and your king too far, the pawn promotes. This drill's starting position is a win, but only if your first moves respect the tempo count.
Keep going
The Lucena Position
White to play and win
The Philidor Position
Black to play and draw
The Passive Back-Rank Defense
Black to play and draw
All 96 rook endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)