Monday 30 September 2019

Pawn + Rook versus Rook - classics



When was the last time you had to have a look at Lucena + Philidor in order not to confuse one with the other or simply not forget about them at all? Well, actually I can manage to forget about this really fast - as indicated before!
But do you also remember how to successfully defend about g- or b-pawns in the "rook versus rook plus pawn"-endings? Or to put it the other way round: Is the below position a draw; regardless who is to move?
To cut it short - with a pawn on g or b, simply retreat with both king and rook to the 8th rank!  Place your king on the file of the pawn and if forced to move the king due to check by the rook, move to the corner. (It is vital to move to the corner!) A double g/b-pawn, however, wins.

Interestingly, the following position is a dead-draw:
The black king is perfectly placed, there is exactly ZERO change for white to win. All black has to do is move is rook (and never ever take the g-pawn)!  If the second pawn is on the f-file, it is won.

Just one last scenario (so next time I prepare, I can simply consult this posts):
While the above one is a draw with black to move. There are some interesting variating set-ups - most with two files between the black rook and the white king... The thing to remember here is to end the sequence with tactics:
White just played d7 to win. See it?! 👦

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