When learning rook and pawn endgames it is really a good idea to start with the absolute basics. By this I'm referring to scenarios in which both sides have a rook but one player has a pawn too. If only rooks were involved then a defender could adequately prevent a pawn from promoting simply by getting behind it. However, the presence of kings naturally complicates things. Essentially, I'm going to split Rook and Pawn vs Rook Endgame lessons into two parts: one in which the defending king is able to blockade the pawn and the other where it cannot. I this lesson we will deal with the former. So lets get things going.
Defending King on the Case
By this, I'm referring to the defending king being able to have an active role in blockading the enemy pawn. Within this category I want to discuss two types of pawn: the outside pawn (a-, b-, g- and h-) and the central pawn (c-, d-, e- and f-).
The Outside Pawn
When blockaded, a rook's pawn provides fewer winning chances than any other pawn. See below.
The following position is slightly different. See below.
The Centre Pawn
Included in this category is the bishop's pawn. As examples with c- and f-pawns are essentially the same as ones with d- and e-pawns, this is where I will start. See the next one.
WARNING: Passive defence does not work against a centre pawn.
However, one must not panic and vow here and now never to be a pawn down. First of all, because you'll never be able to uphold this vow(!) and, secondly, because there are other defensive techniques available. See below.
It is completely clear that understanding and being able to employ this third rank (Philidor's) technique could salvage you a draw or two, but occasionally you may not be able to reach our basic position (for example, if you have just captured to liquidate a pair of pawns, reducing the situation from 2 v 1 to 1 v 0).
Now time for another one.
This concludes the discussion on the situation where the defending king is able to blockade the pawn. In the next lesson we will deal with the situation where the defending king cannot blockade the pawn in Rook & Pawn vs Rook Endgames. After that we are going to introduce more pawns into the picture & will try to deal with them in much detail.
Until then, Goodbye & Stay Tuned !
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