Rook Endgame: Shouldering the King

Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.

Shouldering is one of the quiet arts of king play. Instead of checking or chasing, a king simply stands in the way and takes ground away from its rival.

Hold the queening square. Rh1 covers a1 along the first rank, so any promotion is met by Rxa1. Rh2+ does the same job from the pawn's rank. Those two, plus Rb3+ and Kb4, are the only moves that draw.

The shoulder. Your king needs b3 to get at the pawn. The black king on b2 already covers it, and after Rh2+ Ka3 it covers b2, b3 and b4 at once. There is no route in.

One attacker is not enough. A rook alone can stop the pawn but never win it. Without king support, the extra rook is worth exactly half a point.

The black king must step out, not in. The shoulder only holds because the enemy king goes sideways to a3, keeping its body across your path. If it ducks into the corner with Kb1 instead, the draw is gone: your king reaches b3, and after a1=N Kc3 the corner knight is trapped and lost. The very square that saves a knight pawn one rank lower is a losing move here. So if he ever steps in, you win.