Two Rook Pawns: The Extra Pawn Draw
Black to play and draw
PlayWhite is a pawn up and it is worth nothing. His passed pawn is a rook pawn, his own king is in front of it. And your king boxes that king in on the h-file. The rule says draw. And the tablebase agrees.
Updated
New to this ending? Learn the method first: King & Pawn Endgames
No signup needed. The opponent never gives up, and every mistake gets explained.
The Extra Pawn That Cannot Win
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.
The a-pawns hold each other and no king will ever go near them. Everything happens on the h-file. And the rule is this: when the passed pawn is a rook pawn with its own king in front of it. And the enemy king boxes that king in on the rook file, the position is drawn.
An extra pawn is not a win when the pawn is a rook pawn and the king in front of it cannot get out of its own way.
The rule. If the passed pawn is a rook pawn, the attacking king stands in front of it, and the defending king boxes that king in on the rook file, the ending is drawn. That is exactly this position. The blocked a-pawns on the other wing change nothing at all.
How to box him in. Do not blockade the passer and do not go near the queenside. Shadow the white king one file away: Kf5 against Kh5, Kf4 against Kh4, Kf6 against Kh6. Each of those is the only move.
The finish. The white king is pushed up in front of his own pawn to h7 and h8 while your king holds f7 and f8. He has no way to make room, and the pawn never queens.
Never chase him from the front. The daylight rule has a reason. Step onto the file in front of the white king, Kf6 here, and he sidesteps to g4 with his king ahead of the pawn, which is exactly the extra tempo that flips the count to a win. Shadow him from one file away and behind, never let his king get in front of yours, and the pawn up is worth nothing forever.
In this drill you are a pawn down and completely safe. Learn the boxing pattern and you will save these in practice.
Keep going
The Outside Passed Pawn
White to play and win
Two Pawns Against One
White to play and win
The Reti Manoeuvre
White to play and draw
All 68 king & pawn positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)