Rook and Pawn vs Knight and Pawn: The Knight Goes to h5

White to play and draw, after Larsen - Tal, Bled 1965

Knight and pawn against rook and pawn: you are the exchange down, and you can hold. Your knight on e4 is well placed for now, but his king can soon attack it from e5. The rule: move the knight before it is chased, to a post on the edge where it does a job. Here that post is h5, where it hits f6 and guards f4 and g7.

Updated September 25, 2026

New to this ending? Learn the method first: Domination

No signup needed. The opponent never gives up, and every mistake gets explained.

The Knight Belongs on h5

White 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.

First the trap. Taking the pawn looks natural, but 1.Nxf6 Kxf6 leaves your lone pawn against a rook, and that ending is lost. Here the knight is worth far more than his pawn.

Larsen played this against Tal in 1965. White is down the exchange, and the natural instincts (keep the knight central, trade the pawns off) both lose. Averbakh showed the draw, and it runs through a single square.

Give the knight a job, not a safe square. The rule you may have learned, keep the knight off the rim, applies to a LONE knight being hunted by a rook. With pawns on, the knight has work to do: it must control the square the enemy king wants to invade through and attack the enemy pawn at the same time. Here that post is h5, on the edge.

Reroute before you are kicked. The knight on e4 is well placed until ...Ke6 and ...Ke5 arrive. Of the knight moves only 1.Ng3 keeps the draw; every other one loses. From g3 it goes to h5, where it hits f6 and covers g7.

Do not trade into the bare ending. Rook against a lone knight is drawn, but 1.Nxf6 loses on the spot, and so does 1.g5. Simplification is not a plan here, coordination is.

In this drill the rook probes for the moment your knight has nothing to defend. Get it to h5 and hold.

Keep going

Imprison the King, Then Zugzwang

Black to play and win

Maizelis: Cage the King in the Corner, Then Squeeze

Black to play and win

Play for Zugzwang, Not a Breakthrough

White to play and win

All 30 rook vs minor positions Follow the full curriculum (free)