Knight vs Rook Pawn: The Saving Check
Black to play and draw
PlayA rook pawn is the hardest passed pawn for a lone knight to stop. Black is saved by one detail: the white king is on g2, exactly where your knight can give check. That single tempo is the whole draw.
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Stopping the Rook Pawn With Check
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.
Your knight on g7 does not control h8. Once the pawn reaches h7, you need two jumps to cover the promotion square. That is one too many unless you can win a tempo.
The rule runs the other way from what most players assume. The closer a passed pawn is to the edge, the more trouble a knight has with it, and a rook pawn is the worst case, not the easiest.
Why the edge hurts the knight. Next to the h-file half of the knight's jumps land off the board, so it needs more moves to come back into contact with the pawn's path. Against a central pawn it always has a spare route. Against an h-pawn it usually does not.
Find the tempo. Here the knight needs two moves to reach g6, which is the square that covers h8, and the pawn only needs one. The only way to make that work is to gain a move with check: ...Nf4+ or ...Nh4+ hits the king on g2, and then ...Ng6 arrives in time.
In this drill White will push the pawn at once. Do not blockade passively, look for the check that gains the tempo, and the game is drawn.
Keep going
Sacrifice to Clear the Pawn's Path
White to play and win
Defend the Passed Pawn From Behind
White to play and win
The Knight Guards the Blockaded Pawn
White to play and win
All 21 knight endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)