Rook and Pawn vs Bishop: The Bishop Pawn Draws

Rook and pawn beats a lone bishop in most positions, but the bishop pawn is a known exception, and the mechanism is easy to get wrong.

The pawn is not blockaded. It is not that the bishop covers the promotion square and freezes the pawn. The pawn actually goes through: the main line ends f8=Q+ Kxf8, and Black takes the queen the moment it appears.

The rest is a bare draw. After the pawn comes off, you are left with rook against bishop and no pawns, which is a book draw once the defending king is not trapped in the dangerous corner.

Old news, good news. Ercole del Rio proved this drawn in the middle of the 18th century. Two centuries later Botvinnik defended it against Szabo and held.

The only fortress of its family. This is the one elementary fortress of its kind. Slide every piece one rank down and the defence fails, the attacker wins. Swap the bishop pawn for a central pawn or a knight pawn and the bishop loses too. One pawn, one rank, one fortress.

Real, but not automatic. Keep the bishop on the long diagonal, ready to check the moment the enemy king reaches g6, and never park it on the squares the pawn wants, g8 or f7. One lazy step, a careless Kf7 or a check from the wrong square, and the fortress cracks.

In this drill you press, and the truth is half a point. Play actively, but recognise the verdict and take the draw.