Knight vs Rook Pawn: The Square You Must Touch
White to play and draw
PlayYour king is out of play in the far corner, so the knight has to handle the h-pawn alone. It can do it, but only by aiming for the right square: h2, not h1.
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The Knight Catches the Runner
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.
Here is the rule for this ending. A knight holds a rook pawn without help from its king if it touches any square on the pawn's path except the final corner square. The path is h2 and h1, so h2 is your target. Controlling only h1 is not enough.
When the king cannot get back, the knight has to stop the pawn on its own. Against a rook pawn there is a precise rule for when that works.
The rule. The knight holds the pawn if it can reach or control any square on the pawn's path, with one exception: the final corner square. Guarding h1 alone does not hold.
Why the corner square fails. A knight that only eyes h1 is easy prey. The enemy king walks up to defend h1 and attack the knight at the same time, the knight has to move, and the pawn queens. A knight that touches h2 instead blocks the pawn one square earlier, where the king cannot cover the promotion square and hunt the knight in the same move.
In this drill the pawn races for the first rank. Route the knight to g4, h2 and f1, the squares that keep h2 under control, and the draw holds.
Keep going
Offer the Knight in the Corner
White to play and draw
Deflect the Blockader, Run the Rook Pawn
White to play and win
Stopping the Rook Pawn With Check
Black to play and draw
All 21 knight endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)