The Floating Square on Defense
Black to play and draw
PlaySame idea, one rank lower. Your passed pawns are on a6 and e6, and the square they build stops on the second rank instead of reaching the edge. That single rank is the difference between a win and a draw.
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The Floating Square That Falls Short
Black to play and draw · Hold the draw against perfect play
Waking the engine…
The theory
The floating-square rule cuts both ways. Two passed pawns on the same rank get through only if the square they define reaches the edge of the board.
Shift them one rank back and the win disappears. With pawns on a6 and e6 the square is a6-e6-e2-a2 and it stops on the second rank. The white king holds both, and the position is drawn.
Your own king is on duty. White has a connected g6 and h5 pair and your king must stay in front of it. Only Kf6 and e5 hold; Kh6, Kf8, Kg8, Kh8 and a5 lose.
Corresponding squares. White's king shuttles between c5 and c6; yours answers on f6 and g7. Hold the pairing and neither side makes progress.
In this drill the attacker probes and never lets up. Play Kf6 or e5, keep the correspondence, take the half point.
Keep going
Two Files Apart: The King Wins Both Pawns
White to play and win
Three Connected Pawns and the One Square That Wins
White to play and win
Two Passers and a King on a Leash
White to play and win
All 68 king & pawn positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)