This lesson is the continuation of the lesson Rook Endgames - Lesson 13 - Rook & Pawn versus Rook Part 1. In this lesson we are going to concentrate on the situation where the defending king cannot blockade the pawn in Rook & Pawn vs Rook Endgames. So lets dive in.
Defending King out of Town
Defending rooks can be a real nuisance to the attacker, but in the vast majority of cases the defending king is required to have an input in order to achieve a satisfactory defence. It couldn't be worse placed than in the following example.
Bring the black king nearer and the story is significantly different. See below.
NOTE: For a defender, success or failure (in obtaining a draw) is usually dependent upon the proximity of his king to the pawn.
NOTE: For a defender, success or failure (in obtaining a draw) is usually dependent upon the proximity of his king to the pawn.
If we move White's rook and Black's king one file to the right, White's rook reaches the b8-square in time to ensure victory, although the process is more complex than it first appears.
See below.
'That's all very well' I hear you ask, 'but what happens when neither king is close to the remaining pawn?'
It's true that this second section of the chapter is mainly focusing on situations in which the attacking king is up with the pawn, but it is worth an example to respond to this query.
NOTE: If kings were not allowed to approach, a rook and pawn would not defeat a rook, but this is a hypothetical assertion. It's all about the relative position of the monarchs.
See below.
There are other simple situations that I would like to discuss, starting with the application of a little common sense (always useful in a game of chess!).
Shifting everything one file to the right makes White work harder. See below.
Generally it doesn't look good for the defender when his king is cut off, but the following case shows that all may be not lost.
Here is a more simplistic example of 'breaking the barrier'.
That's not the end of the story, though, as sometimes the attacker can be equally crafty.
You are now armoured with the essentials of rook and pawn versus rook scenarios, but let me end this chapter with a position that incorporates several of our themes to date.
This is an interesting situation because at first it seems like a trivial win for Black, as his king got to where it counts first.
So That's it with Rook & Pawn vs Rook Endgame. In the next few lessons we will introduce more pawns into the picture and analyze the positions. Hope that you are enjoying these lessons . We are not done yet. There is a lot more to come. So stay tuned !
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