The Tempo Count Decides
White to play and win
PlayThe same theme one rank lower, and here the counting is explicit. The position scores three tempi to two in White's favor, and that is exactly why it is a win rather than a draw.
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The Tempo Count Decides
White to play and win · Win against perfect defense
Waking the engine…
The theory
This is the winning half of the two-rook-pawns-plus-extra-pawn theme, and it is decided by arithmetic, not by patience.
The count. It scores three to two. Black gets two tempi, because the rook pawns stand two squares below their normal blocked position. White gets three: two because his f-pawn is two squares below f5, the point where the h3-c8 diagonal crosses the f-file, plus one because his king is in front of the pawn. Three beats two, so White wins.
The march. Only Ke4 keeps it. The king walks toward the a3 pawn, and Black's king must follow or the f-pawn runs. He cannot do both jobs, and after Kd4 he is lost in every line.
Leave the f-pawn alone. It is not a battering ram. Standing still it forces Black's king to stay near it, and that is worth more than any push.
In this drill do the count before the first move. If the count is against you, no amount of maneuvering will fix it.
Keep going
The Extra Pawn That Cannot Win
Black to play and draw
The Stalemate That Saves
Black to play and draw
Corresponding Squares: Dedrle's Draw
Black to play and draw
All 62 king & pawn positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)