Square of the Pawn: Practice the Rule
Black to play and draw
PlayWhite's pawn runs for a8 and your king has to catch it. Do not count moves one by one: draw the square of the pawn. If your king can step into it, the pawn is caught.
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The Square of the Pawn
Black 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.
Head the wrong way and the race is lost. After Kf5 your king stays one file outside, every push shrinks the square, and the pawn queens.
When a passed pawn runs and your king chases, calculating move by move under time pressure is how half-points die. The square rule answers instantly.
The rule. Imagine a square whose side runs from the pawn to its promotion square. If the defending king, with the move, can enter that square, it catches the pawn. Outside the square, the pawn queens. No calculation required.
Two traps. (1) A pawn still on its starting rank moves two squares first: draw the square as if it stood one rank further on. (2) The rule assumes an unobstructed king walk: your own pieces or checks along the way break it, so a quick sanity-check of the path never hurts.
In this drill you defend with a bare king against pawn and king. Enter the square, escort the pawn's capture, or slip into the corner fortress: your opponent gives you nothing and will punish a single step outside the geometry.
Keep going
The Rook Pawn Corner Fortress
Black to play and draw
Take the Opposition to Hold the Draw
Black to play and draw
King on the Sixth: The Winning Formation
White to play and win
All 68 king & pawn positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)