Knight and Rook Pawn Draw: The Trapped King
Black to play and draw
PlayThe white king on h8 is shut in by its own pawn on h7, and only g7 or g8 can let it out. Your rule: keep your king on f7 or f8, the only squares that guard both exits, and switch between them every move. A knight cannot lose a move, so White can never force you off them.
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The King Locked in Front of Its 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.
Which one first? Not 1...Kf8. After 2.Nc7 Kf7 3.Ne6 it is your move, the knight covers f8 and g7, and every move you have loses. Even 3...Kxe6 loses, because 4.Kg7 lets the pawn through.
Knight and pawn beat a lone king almost automatically. The exception is the rook pawn whose own king has climbed in front of it, into the corner.
The self-block. With the white king on h8 and the pawn on h7, the pawn cannot move. The king can only unlock it by leaving through g7 or g8.
Only two squares work. The black king must control g7 and g8 together, and exactly two squares do that: f7 and f8. So Black shuttles between them, but the order matters: answer Nc7 with Kf8 and Ne6 with Kf7. Even 1...Kf8 at once loses, and so does a greedy capture of the knight, because both let the white king out.
In this drill White will keep checking and probing with the knight. Answer 2.Nc7 with 2...Kf8, answer 3.Ne6+ with 3...Kf7, and the half point is yours.
Keep going
The Knight Catches the Runner
White to play and draw
Offer the Knight in the Corner
White to play and draw
Deflect the Blockader, Run the Rook Pawn
White to play and win
All 21 knight endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)