Rook and pawn versus rook endgame
The rook and pawn versus rook endgame is a fundamentally important, widely studied chess endgame. Precise play is usually required in these positions. With optimal play, some complicated wins require sixty moves to either checkmate, capture the defending rook, or successfully promote the pawn. In some cases, thirty-five moves are required to advance the pawn once. The play of this type of ending revolves around whether or not the pawn can be promoted, or if the defending rook must be sacrificed to prevent promotion. If the pawn promotes, that side will have an  overwhelming advantage. If the pawn is about to promote, the defending side may give up their rook for the pawn, resulting in an easily won endgame for the superior side (a basic checkmate). In a few cases, the superior side gives up their rook in order to promote the pawn, resulting in a winning queen versus rook position (see Pawnless chess endgame#Queen versus rook). A rule of thumb (with exceptions) is: "if the king on the side without the pawn can reach the queening square of the pawn, the game is a draw; otherwise it is a win for the  opponent (except with a , i.e. a- or h-)". The side with the pawn can cut off the opposing king or strive for the Lucena position, which is a win. The defender can aim for the Philidor position (which is a draw) or try to set up one of the other defensive techniques that draw. A rook and two pawns usually win against a rook, but there are plenty of exceptions. Importance. Endings with rooks and pawns are the most common type to occur in games, occurring in about 8 to 10 percent of all games. A majority of rook and  pawn endings with more pawns have the potential of being reduced to this type of endgame (rook and one pawn versus rook). John Nunn wrote a 352-page book about this ending, "Secrets of Rook Endings". Volume 2 of the "Encyclopedia of Chess Endings" devotes 92 pages to the analysis of 428 positions of this type. André Chéron wrote over 150 pages analyzing 120 positions of this endgame in their famous book "Lehr- und Handbuch der Endspiele". In "100 Endgames You Must Know" by Jesús de la Villa, 17 are of this type. Nunn covers 100 topics in "Understanding Chess  Endgames" – eight are about this type of endgame. Pawn on the sixth or seventh rank. In his 1958 book "Chess Endgames", Nikolay Kopaev gave these general guidelines for when the pawn is on the sixth or seventh rank: Winning methods. In order to force a win with the extra pawn, normally the black king must be cut off from the pawn by the white rook along a or , and that is not always sufficient. Black king is cut off along a rank. If the black king is cut off from the pawn along a rank (as in the diagram), White  wins easily if the king is behind the pawn: Checks from the front or side do not help Black. and the pawn will soon promote. When cutting the defending king off by a rank, a "perfect cut" is when the pawn is on the same rank as the defending king. An "imperfect cut" is when the king is on the rank ahead of the pawn. These general rules apply: In this position, White has a perfect cut and wins: This is the same position but advanced one rank. Now the process is repeated: White threatened Rh7, b7, and Kb6 so  Black tries checks from the rear. However, play will soon lead to a Lucena position (see below), which easily wins for White. Black king is cut off from the pawn's file. When the black king is cut off from the pawn's file the outcome depends on where the black king is in relation to the pawn. Black's king is often cut off from the pawn along a file. Some general rules (with exceptions) are: Rule of five. The rule of five is for positions in which the pawn is protected and the opposing king is cut off  by files: "Add the number of rank of the pawn to the number of files the defender's king is cut off. If the sum is more than five, it is usually a win. Otherwise it is normally a draw.". For example, in the diagram, white wins by: The white king must have this file available. and White will win. The position by Chéron is basically the same, except moved over two files. Now the white king has less room to maneuver on the left of the pawn's file, and Black can prevent the advance of the pawn and  draw. If White starts with 1. Ka4, the rook checks the king, and the king is forced back to b3. White can try: Or 7.Ra7 Rc1, and the black king reaches the pawn's file, for a draw. Another try for White is: and the position is drawn. If the pieces are moved one file to the right, White has a win. In the discussion above about the defending king being cut off by files, it is assumed that the defending rook is already in position to check the attacking king along files (usually from its first rank). In this  position by José Capablanca, White wins because the white pawn can reach its fourth rank before the black rook can check along files. If the black rook were already at "h8" and it were Black's move, Black would draw by checking the king and by playing ...Rf8 when the white king moves to "f1". With White to move in the diagrammed position: and White will win. With Black to move, 3.f4 draws after 3...Rd7 or 3...Kc7. and White wins. Simple method for bishop pawns and central pawns. There is a simple way of winning if the pawn  is a bishop pawn or central pawn (i.e. on the c-, d-, e-, or f-file) and its king can reach the promotion square of the pawn. In the diagram, 1. Rc2+ would start the process of winning as in the Lucena position (below). However, White also wins more easily by: Now either and White wins easily, or the white king can approach the black rook on the two files next to the pawn's file until it can no longer check: and the black rook can no longer attack, and the pawn promotes. This method does not work  for rook pawns (e.g. a- and h-files) or knight pawns (e.g. b- and g-file), because the white king does not have room to maneuver. However, the Lucena position (below) is a win for White if the pawn is not a rook pawn. Lucena position. The Lucena position is one of the most famous and important positions in chess endgame theory. It is a win for the side with the pawn. The essential characteristics are that White's king is on the queening square in front of their pawn, the pawn is on the "b" through "g" files, the  black rook cuts off White's king from escaping away from the black king, and the Black king is cut off on a file. White wins in the position in the diagram by 1. Rd1+, forcing the black king one farther away, then bringing their rook to the fourth to make a "bridge" to protect the king, then bringing out the king, which will be checked by Black's rook. White maneuvers their king to the fifth rank (without giving up the pawn) and then when the black rook checks, White interposes their rook and has a winning position . See Lucena position for more details. Defending rook prevents the bridge. If the defending rook is in the superior side's fourth rank, it prevents the rook from making a bridge on that rank. In that case, the win is straightforward. The black rook is not far enough away from the white king to keep safely checking. Other fourth moves by Black are no better. If 4...Rd4+ then 5.Ke5 wins, as the rook cannot stop the pawn. If Black tries a different move, say 4...Re2 then White moves 5.Rc5 and builds a bridge on the fifth  rank. and Black cannot stop the pawn. Other methods. It may not be necessary to build a bridge (as in the Lucena position) to win, if the king is on its pawn's promotion square. White wins in this position: Or 1...Kd6 2.Kd8 Rxe7 3.Rd2+ Ke6 4.Re2+ wins the rook. Defensive methods. Often White will not be able to utilize one of the winning methods. Black has several defensive methods available, depending mainly on the position of the pawn and their king. If the defending king is in front of the pawn and the attacking king  and pawn have not yet reached their sixth rank, the "Philidor position" (or "Philidor defense") easily works to secure a draw. If the defending king cannot get in front of the pawn but is not cut off, the "short-side defense" can be used. If the pawn is a rook pawn or knight pawn, the "back rank defense" can be used. The "back rank defense" can also be used when the pawn is on other files if the attacking king has not reached the sixth rank. If the king is cut off along a file, the "frontal defense" may  work, depending on the file of the pawn and how far advanced it is. Philidor position. Philidor's position (see the diagram) illustrates an important drawing technique in this endgame. The technique is also known as the "third rank defense" and works when the defending king is in front of the pawn and the attacking king and pawn have not reached their sixth rank. Black keeps their rook on their third to keep the white king from reaching that rank. If White advances the pawn to its sixth rank (Black's third rank), then the king is deprived of shelter , so Black moves their rook to the eighth (or seventh) rank, and keeps checking the white king from behind. It is very important that the defender keep their rook on their third rank, and move to the far side of the board "only" after the attacking pawn has moved to its sixth rank. (An exchange of rooks will result in a drawn position, see king and pawn versus king endgame.) See Philidor position for more details. There are three errors that Black must avoid: Philidor's defense can also be used with the black rook on the fourth rank, if  White's king and pawn have not reached that rank. If this defense is used, the black king should be on the second rank. The principle is the same: Black keeps their rook on the fourth rank, keeping the white king from advancing to that rank. If the pawn advances to that rank, Black moves the rook to the eighth rank and checks the king from behind. Back-rank defense. The back-rank defense always works if the pawn is a or and the defending king is in front of the pawn. The defending king blocks the pawn and the  rook is on the first rank preventing checks by the rook. In the diagram, Black draws. If 1. g7 then 1... Rb6+ draws and if 1. Rg7+ then 1... Kh8 draws. White's best attempt is: Waiting passively, also known as the "passive defense". The only trick for White. If 3... Kf8? then 4.Kh7 Rb1 5.Rf7+ Ke8 6.Rf4 and White gets to the Lucena position. and White makes no progress. The defense fails for other pawns (if the attacking king has reached the sixth rank) because White has another file available to go around the pawn. If  the attacking king has not reached the sixth rank, the defense works for any pawn. In the second diagram, White to move wins by getting their king to the sixth rank so the defending rook can not leave the back rank because of the threat of checkmate. This illustrates how the defense fails for a or : If Black is to move in the diagrammed position, they draw with which neutralizes the threat of Kg6, because Black can check from behind and there is no immediate threat of checkmate by White. Black checks from behind, as in the Philidor defense. If  neither the pawn or king have reached the sixth rank, Black can normally draw by reaching the Philidor position, above. King in front of pawn, but cannot reach the Philidor position. Sometimes, the defender's king is in front of the pawn, but the rook cannot get to its third rank to reach the Philidor position. Thus, they have two choices: try to attack from behind, or retreat to the back rank with their rook to guard the mating threats. The diagrams show such back-rank positions. For a (see the first diagram) or , if the defending rook  is tied down to the back rank, the defender loses: winning the rook. But the defender can hold the draw with an accurately conducted "active defense" from behind the pawn while it is still on the fifth rank, with the king moving to the short side (see next section). However, with a (see the diagram on the right), the attacker has no file equivalent to 2. Rh7, so they cannot make progress. Here, the defender should avoid the active defense (attacking the pawn from behind while it is on the fifth with the rook). It fails because their king  will be forced to the long side (stepping the other way would lose immediately because of the corner, allowing immediate mate). The defender can draw against the rook pawn either way, because most king and pawn versus king positions are drawn with the rook's pawn (see King and pawn versus king endgame#Rook pawn)</ref> Section::::"Short-side" defense. Not all positions similar to the Lucena position above are wins for the superior side — it depends on the position of Black's rook and king (relative to White's pawn), and which side is to move. In positions such as the  position in this diagram, the defending rook must be at least four files away from the pawn on the "long side" for the defense to work (the "checking distance"); otherwise the white king can support its pawn and approach the black rook to drive it away. The black king needs to be on the "short side" so it will not block checks by its own rook. As an example, Black to move draws in this diagram. The reason is that Black can check the white king from the side with their rook, and the rook is just far enough away  from the white king that if it tries to approach the rook to stop the checks, the rook can get behind the pawn and win it, resulting in a drawn position. For example: If 5...Ra8 6.Ra1! (Either Black takes the rook and the white pawn queens, or it forces the enemy rook off the vital a-file that has "checking distance", the rook moves on the back rank, followed by 7.Kd7, and the pawn promotes.) with a draw after winning the pawn, which can no longer be defended by its king. If White's king and pawn are moved  to the left, White wins as in the Lucena position above. With a few exceptions, the defending rook must be at least four over from the pawn for this defense to work (which is why the defending king should go to the short side, to not block checks by their rook). 1...Rc2 leads to a Lucena position. and White wins. The rook was too close to the pawn, so White's king could both approach the rook to prevent checks and return to protect the pawn. Short-side defense, less-advanced pawn. This threatens 2.Ra8+ Ke7 3.f6+  driving the black king far from the pawn. (See the Lucena Position next section for White's winning method.) 1...Rb6+ is too late because of 2.f6, forcing Black to retreat to the back rank, which is a loss as shown in the previous section. The point of Philidor's third rank defense is to prevent White from moving the king to the sixth rank before the pawn. Black's defense is: Tarrasch rule, rook behind pawn. 2.Ra8+ Ke7 and now the black rook stops 3.f6+. Going to the "short side" is vital, as will become clear . Other moves make no progress because of Black's obeying the Tarrasch rule. E.g. 4.Ke6 Kg7 and 5.f6+ is impossible. The main move protects the pawn and threatens 5.Ke7 followed by f6. Now Black threatens to check from the side to keep White from making any progress. Black needs space to do this, which is why the king must move out of the way to the short side. There must be at least three files between Black's rook and the pawn, otherwise White's king can protect White's pawn while attacking Black's rook and gain time  necessary to advance the pawn. One try, to use the rook to block the checks from the side. Black moves behind the pawn again, so 6.Ke6 is answered by 6...Kg7, as per note to move 4. Long-side blunder. If the black king went to the long side, Black would not have the resource of checking from the side. For example, from the second diagram above, where 2...Kg8! draws as shown above: There is no room to check on the side. If 5...Rg1+ then 6.Kf7 followed by f6. The point of 4.Rf8. 6...Ke6 7.Re8+  Kd7 8.Re2 and converts to Lucena position, next section. followed by Ra8 then Ra2-d2+ (or any other safe check on the d-file). After this, and the same if Black prevents the check by placing their own rook on the d-file, White plays Kg7 Rg(any)+; Kf8 then f7, reaching the Lucena position. If the pawn is a central pawn, going to the long side with the defending king will sometimes give the rook just enough checking distance if it is on the rook file on the opposite side of the pawn. Defending this way is a far  more arduous task, so moving the defending king to the short side is always recommended. With the defending rook three files over from the pawn, the attacker usually wins, but there are exceptions, depending on the location of the attacking rook. Last-rank defense. In the diagram, Black draws: If 2... Rg8 then 3.Ra1!. If 2...Kf6 then 3.Ra1! Rb8 4.Rf1+ Kg7 5.Kc6 Ra8 6.Ra1, a winning position. and White can not make any progress. Frontal defense. The Frontal Defense is a way that Black may keep White from getting to the Lucena position, even if the defending king  is cut off from the pawn's file. Black's rook is well-placed on its first and can check the white king or offer itself for exchange when the resulting king and pawn versus king endgame is a draw. The farther back the pawn is, the more likely the defense is to be successful. To have good drawing chances, there should be at least three ranks between the pawn and the defending rook (called the "rule of three"). The file of the pawn matters too: a gives the best winning chances, followed by a , followed by a , with a  having little chance of winning. If White is to move in the diagram, Black draws by using the frontal defense: 1. Kh4 Rh8+! 2. Kg5 Rg8+ 3. Kh5 Rh8+ 4. Kg6 Rg8+ 5. Kh5 Rh8+ and White cannot make any progress. If Black to move in this position, they have an alternative drawing method that requires knowledge of the king and pawn versus king endgame: 1...Rf8 to bring the king over to the pawn. If 2. Rxf8 Kxf8 3. Kf4 Kg8! (avoids losing the opposition. 3. Kh4 is met the same way) 4 . Kf5 Kf7 or 4. Kg5 Kg7, and the position is a draw. The frontal defense may or may not work for and , even if there are three ranks between the pawn and the defending rook. In the diagram from Emms, White to move wins: and White will reach the Lucena position. Black to move in that position draws, by reaching a drawn king and pawn versus king endgame position: Black to move in that position also draws with 1... Kd6, getting the king to a favorable position. Rook pawn. Endings with a rook pawn arise frequently because they are more  likely to be the last remaining pawn. If the pawn is a rook pawn, the chances of a draw are much greater. Even the equivalent of the Lucena position is no guarantee of success (it depends on the location of the white rook and who is to move). These endings are more likely to be a draw because (1) the pawn can protect the king from checks from the rear only, and not from the side, and (2) the edge of the board reduces the king's mobility in trying to support the pawn. With a rook pawn, usually in  actual play the defending rook or king is able to get in front of the pawn. If the defending king gets in front of the pawn, the game is a draw. If the defending rook gets in front of the pawn, the result depends on which king arrives on the scene first. The attacking king or rook may be in front of the pawn. King in front of pawn. In this diagram, the only way for White to make progress is to get their rook to b8, but this allows the black king to get to the c-file and  draw. This is the simplest way for Black. Now there is no way to force the black king away from the c-file. and Black draws. If the black king is cut off by four or more files, White wins, as in this diagram: and White wins. Rook in front of pawn. In this position, the black king needs to get to one of the marked squares in order to draw. If it gets to one of the squares marked with "x", the king can move next to the pawn and the rook can the pawn for a draw. Otherwise , the king needs to stay on the squares marked with dots: g7 and h7. The reason is that if the black king is on another rank, the white rook can check and then the pawn promotes and wins. For example, if the black king were on f6 instead, with White to move, 1.Rf8+ followed by 2.a8=Q wins. Also, the black king needs to be on g7 or h7 rather than d7, e7, or f7. If it were White's move in this position, White wins by 1.Rh8 Rxa7 (otherwise the pawn promotes and wins) 2.Rh7+, skewering  the rook. If the black king is on g7 or h7 and the white king approaches the pawn (to protect it while the rook moves out of the way), the black rook will check from behind and the king has no cover from the checks. Vančura position. The Vančura position (see diagram) is a drawing position with a rook and rook's pawn versus a rook, when the pawn is not beyond its sixth rank, and the stronger side's rook is in front of the pawn. It was studied by Josef Vančura (1898–1921), published in 1924. Black's rook  keeps attacking the pawn from the side from some distance away, while preventing the white king from finding cover from checks. The black king must be on the opposite side of their rook as the pawn to not block the attacks. The black rook moves behind the pawn as soon as the pawn moves up to its seventh rank. Also, Black's king must be near the corner on the opposite side of the board if the pawn advances to its seventh rank so the white rook cannot check the black king and then support the advance of the  pawn, or sacrifice its pawn to skewer Black's king and rook on the seventh rank, as in the section above. Protecting the pawn in order to free the rook to move. If 1.a7 Ra6! 2.Kb5 Ra1 3.Kb6 Rb1+ 4.Kc7 Rc1+ 5.Kd7 Ra1, and White cannot win. Note that if Black's king were on g6 there would follow 2.Rg8+ with 3.a8=Q, and if it were on f7 White would win with 2.Rh8! Rxa7 3.Rh7+. An important square for the rook. Black now checks on the f-file and aims to maintain a  sideways attack on the pawn. Maintaining sideways contact with the pawn. But not 7...Rf4+? 8.Ke5! and White wins. Or 9.a7 Ra6! with a draw. and White cannot win. The white king cannot advance because of the checks and the pawn cannot advance because the black rook gets behind the pawn. In Shakhmaty v SSSR in 1950, Peter Romanovsky published a drawing zone, see the diagram. If Black is to move and the white king is on one of the marked squares, Black draws by reaching the Vančura position. Otherwise White wins. Most common rook endgame . Cecil Purdy gives the most common type of rook endgame as one with a rook and rook pawn versus a rook, with the rook in front of its pawn. In the third diagram, White wins easily. If it is Black's move: and White wins. They can force their king out by Kb7 or if the black rook prevents that by going to the seventh rank, then Rh8 and Kb8. Examples from master games. The positions discussed above are somewhat idealized, but they are fundamental to practical play. Here are some examples of this endgame from master games. Larsen vs.  Browne, 1982. The game Bent Larsen–Walter Browne, Las Palmas 1982, illustrates an alternate winning method with a knight pawn. A variation of moves would have resulted in the "building a bridge" method. Or if 80...Rh3, then 81.Re1+ Kd7 82.Re4 Rh2 83.Kf7 Rf2+ 84.Kg6 Rg2+ 85.Kf6 Rf2+ 86.Kg5 Rg2+ 87.Rg4 and White will win by building a bridge. Pein vs. Ward, 1997. 60... Re2! (cutting the white king off) 61. Kf3 Re7 62. Kf2 Kc6 63. Kf3 Kb6 64. Rd5 c3 65. Rh5 c2 66. Rh1 Rc7 67. Rc1 Kb5 68. Ke2 Kb4 69 . Kd2 Kb3 70. Rh1 Kb2! 0–1. Ward vs. Arkell, 1994. Black can not reach the Philidor position, but still draws. 45... Rf4!! 46. Ra8+ Kh7 47. Ke6 Kg7 48. Ra7+ Kf8 49. Kf6 Kg8 50. Ra8+ Kh7 51. Rf8 Ra4! 52. Rf7+ Kg8 53. Re7 Kf8 54. Re6 Ra7 55. Rb6 Rf7+ 56. Kg5 Ra7 57. f6 Kf7 ½–½ Ward vs. Emms, 1997. 95... Rb4+ 96. Kg3 Kh5 97. Ra3 Rg4+ 98. Kh3 Rh4+ 99. Kg3 Rb4 100. Re3 Rb5 101. Ra3 g4 102. Rc3 Kg5 103. Ra3 Rc5 ½–½ Subtle differences . There can be subtle differences in positions that make the difference between a win and a draw. Two examples of this are shown in the diagrams. Zugzwang. There are exactly 209 positions of reciprocal zugzwang among rook and pawn versus rook endgames. All of them were tabulated and published. The full list is available online. Some of the zugzwangs are easy to understand (see position at the middle); some requires up to 54 moves to win. The position at left is a position that could have occurred in the 1961 game between Viacheslav Kalashnikov and the young Anatoly Karpov. White  to move in this position draws, but Black to move loses. Karpov's 49th move in the actual game avoided the zugzwang and the game was drawn. Rook and two pawns versus rook. A rook and two pawns generally win against a rook, but there are exceptions. In actual games, the side with the pawns wins 82% of the time.