Rook Endgame: Zugzwang Against the King on the Edge
White to play and win
PlayYour rook on the g-file shuts his king in on the edge, and h5 is that king's best square. The rule: win the fight for the move first. Wait with your rook along the g-file until it is his turn to move in the starting position, then march your king in and threaten mate against the king on the edge.
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Zugzwang Against a King on the Edge
White to play and win · Win against perfect defense
Waking the engine…
The theory
Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.
First, what does not work. If you just walk your king over and then bring the rook behind the pawn with Re1, his king gets out with Kg6, and the game is a draw.
A king pressed to the edge and cut off by a file is close to helpless in a rook ending. Proving it takes a tool that is rare in this material: zugzwang.
Do not touch the pawn. With the rook cutting on the g-file, 1.e5 is not a winning move. The pawn advances at the end, after the king has done the work.
Win the move. On h5 the black king is optimally placed for defense. The answer is a waiting move along the cutting file, Rg2, and later Rg7 and Rg1. Black runs out of useful moves, the king has to go to h4 or h6, and with mate ideas hanging over a king on the rim it cannot ignore you.
Then walk in. Kd4, Kc5, Kd5 and onward: the king marches toward the checking rook, the side checks dry up, and the pawn follows.
In this drill the attacker's job is patience. Hold the file, take the move, advance last.
Keep going
Knight Pawn: the Defender Checks from the Front
Black to play and draw
Philidor's Defense on the Fifth
Black to play and draw
The Fifth-Rank Fortress: 1.Kf6 Does Not Win
White to play and draw
All 96 rook endgames positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)