       |
[A.J. Goldsby I]
***
(Position check: White - King on d5, Rook on
h2, Pawn on e5;
Black - King on d7, Rook on g1.)
The "Philidor Position."
(Bear in mind Philidor demonstrated
these endings were drawn
over 200
years ago!!).
(Study
this ending carefully, MANY players have gotten this position
against me in tournament games ... and BLOWN it!)
Or: How to draw if you are a pawn down.
Black to play and DRAW!!
1...Rg6!;
The most accurate.
The basic technique is (to place) the Rook
on the third row out from
the edge
of the board and the King on the
second row/rank (away)
from the
edge of the board.
---> IF you are forced back,
ALWAYS occupy the promotion
square!!
As soon as the side with the Pawn
pushes his foot-soldier to the sixth row,
(two squares away from the
promotion square); the defender
MUST move
his Rook to the opposite
side of the board - 8th row/rank -
to be able to
check ... continuously, if need be. The Rook either checks, or threatens
the enemy Pawn. The opposing King can never move more than 2 squares
away from his Pawn ... if he does he will risk either losing it or allowing
an
iron-clad blockade.
Sound simple? OK! Let's see that technique in action!
[ Losing is: 1...Rg7?;
Black guards the second rank. 2.Ra2!
Rg1;
3.Ra7+
Ke8;
4.Ke6
Kf8; This looks - more or
less - forced.
(If 4...Rd1?;
5.Ra8+
Rd8; 6.Rxd8+
Kxd8; 7.Kf7,
"+/-" and the
Pawn promotes.) 5.Ra8+
Kg7; 6.Ke7
Re1;
7.e6
Re2; 8.Ra1
Re3;
9.Rg1+!
Kh6; 10.Kd7
Rd3+;
11.Ke8
Re3; 12.e7
Kh7;
13.Rg4!,
"+/-"
and White has turned the original position into a Lucena Position.
He is
ready to build the bridge and win.
Black must NOT allow this. (To have a successful defense, that is!) ].
2. Rh7+
Ke8!; Best.
The most accurate. By occupying the
promotion square, Black makes
any
advance by White nearly impossible.
[
2...Kd8!?; (Maybe -
'!?/?') Not the most accurate.
The King should ALWAYS occupy the promotion square, making it
very difficult for White to make progress.
(There are 1 or 2 special positions where the defender can lose by occupying
anything but the promotion square. By ALWAYS occupying this square, the
defender can be guaranteed the draw.)
Yet Black may still be able to draw, though. But it will take careful
play.
3.e6, White must push the pawn in
order to make progress. (Not: 3.Rh8+
Kd7;
4.Rh7+
Kd8; 5.Rh8+,
which just repeats the position.) 3...Rg1!;
The Rook
zooms down to the
last rank to perpetually harass
the White King.
(Definitely not: 3...Rg5+??;
This one thoughtless check will lose the game
for Black! This
lateral check is the one to AVOID!!
4.Kd6
Kc8[]; 5.Rh8+
Kb7;
6.e7
Rg6+; 7.Kd7
Rg7; 8.Kd8,
"+/-" ) 4.Kd6
Rd1+; 5.Ke5
Re1+; 6.Kf5
Rf1+;
7.Kg4
Rg1+; The simplest.
(Black should also be able to draw with: 7...Re1;
8.Kf5
Rf1+; etc.).
8.Kf5
Rf1+; 9.Ke5
Re1+; 10.Kf6
Rf1+; 11.Ke5
Re1+;
(An evaluation of - "=")
etc. It should be obvious by now
White cannot make progress. ].
3. e6,
Again, the only way for White to
make progress is to push the pawn.
[
For example, as long as Black
does NOT take his Rook off
the 3rd rank,
the White King can
never cross and he will never be
able to make real progress.
The proof? 3.Ra7
Rh6; 4.Ra8+
Ke7; 5.Ra7+
Ke8; 6.Ra8+
Ke7;
It should be obvious that White is not making any progress.
7.e6!?
Rh5+!;
(7...Rxe6; 8.Ra7+
Kf6; "=" also will draw the game.
)
8.Kd4
Kxe6, "=" ].
3...Rg1!, The most accurate.
The Rook will
continually check the White King,
until the first player
accedes to the draw.
THIS TECHNIQUE IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL TO OBTAIN THE DRAW!!!
[ Black must not play: 3...Rg5+??;
4.Kd6
Kf8; 5.Rh8+
Kg7;
6.Ra8
Rg1;
7.Ke7
Rd1;
8.Ra2
Rd3; 9.Rg2+!
Kh7;
10.Ke8
Re3; 11.e7
Rd3;
12.Rg4!,
and now we have the Lucena
position, which is a win for White.
Black must avoid this, if humanly possible. (!!) ].
4. Kd6
Rd1+; 5.
Kc5
Rc1+; 6.
Kd5
Rd1+; 7.
Kc4
Rc1+;
The simplest.
[ Black can also draw with:
7...Re1; 8.Kd5
Rd1+; Etc. ("=")
].
8. Kd5,
Forced.
(Any other move will probably lose the Pawn.)
[
8.Kb5?
Re1; 9.Rh6
Ke7;
10.Kc5
Rxe6; "=" and its an
easy draw. ] .
8...Rd1+; 9.
Ke5
Re1+; 10.
Kd6
Rd1+; 11.
Kc6
Rc1+;
1/2-1/2
Black can check indefinitely.
White cannot march his King
toward the Black Rook, as White
would then
lose his pawn.
***
Perhaps I have dwelt overly long
on this ending. To those who feel
offended
or slightly belabored, let
me say that I have seen MASTERS
and EXPERTS
blow this ending in
TOURNAMENT games!
(Especially when short of time.)
THERE IS SIMPLY NO EXCUSE
FOR THIS!!!
Of you have this technique down,
"Stone Cold," ...
you should never have
any
problems with this ending.
Another reason that I have dwelt
so long on this end-game position
is I am
absolutely convinced that - a
few (relatively) simple positions ...
... like the, "Lucena Position," and,
"The Philidor Drawing Position" ...
... ARE THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS
... ON WHICH ALL
...
ROOK-AND-PAWN END-GAMES ... ARE PREDICATED ON!!
(I.e., if you are playing a game of
chess, and you are in a complicated
King,
rook, and multiple pawn ending ...
you should NOT have to spend extra
time
trying to figure out ---
"Is this position a win?"
{In a tournament!!}
For example, you manage to get
you one Pawn to the 5th rank, and
get your
King directly in front of the
pawn; and the enemy King is cut off
one file away.
You should not have to
spend lots of valuable clock time
trying to figure out
whether or not
you can now win this position. You
should simply know,
<< Hey that will
turn into a "Lucena Position," which
is a win for me. >>
Or the time I saw an IM
fuddle around with TWO passed
pawns against a GM.
By the time
the IM got around to - correctly -
deciding that he should sacrifice
the Pawn to set up the Lucena, it
was already too late. Short of time,
he made
several inaccuracies and
allowed the position to be DRAWN ...
AND LOST
THE GAME ON TIME!! {This was in the days before time
delay clocks!}
***
So heed this warning {above} and Master
these endings ...
get to the point you can do them
in your sleep or with your eyes closed.
The rewards will be many tournament
games won ..... or the draw saved!!
Copyright (c) A.J. Goldsby I; (c) 1999, (c) 2000, (c) 2001, & (c) 2002.
This
is the complete version of this game as it exists on my hard drive in my endgame
database,
I have NOT shortened it for publication! If you would like a copy of this
endgame
- in the ChessBase format -
to study on your own computer, please drop
me a line.
If
you enjoyed this position, and would like to study ANOTHER
Rook-and-Pawn endgame, ("The LUCENA Position");
click HERE.
Click
HERE
to return/go to my "Geo-Cities" web site.
(My Home Page.)
Click
HERE
to return/go to my "Geo-Cities" web site.
(Chess Training Page.)
Click
HERE
to return to the page with my "Endgame List."
(This was the page you were on
before coming here.)
Click HERE to go to, or return to, my "Games4" Home Page.
(Or ... You could also press the back button on your web browser.)
Copyright, (c) A.J. Goldsby I
Copyright © A.J. Goldsby, 1994 - 2004. © A.J. Goldsby, 2005.
Copyright © A.J. Goldsby, 2005. All rights reserved.
