Vertical Checks Against the Far-Advanced Pawn
Black to play and draw
PlayWhite's a-pawn is on the seventh. The main attacking method with such a pawn is interference, building a bridge so the rook can shield the king. Your defence is to check the white king vertically and drive it as far as possible from your own g-pawn.
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Vertical Checks Against the Far-Advanced 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.
Interference. With a far-advanced passed pawn, the attacker's main weapon is interference, also called building a bridge: the rook interposes to shield its own king from checks so the pawn can queen.
The defence. Drive the king away with vertical checks, and drive it as far as possible from your own passed pawn. Every check you land is a tempo the attacker must spend walking back.
Do not rush your pawn. Pushing it before the checks have done their work loses the race by a single move.
In this drill you defend. Get the rook behind the a-pawn, check the king up the board, and only then start running.
Keep going
Lasker's Idea: Check, Then Capture
White to play and win
Smyslov's Method: The Rook Goes Back
White to play and draw
Vaisser's Defence on the g-File
White to play and draw
All 83 rook endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)