In rook and pawn against rook, one of the main defensive methods is to harass the opponent's king and pawn with checks and blows from behind. An active rook keeps the stronger king from hiding and escorting the pawn home.
Here White has the king on e7, a pawn on e6 and the rook on d7; Black has the king on g7 and the rook on a8. White to move, and with accurate play it is a draw (per the tablebases): the black rook ties White's hands from behind.
The lesson: in rook endings passive defence usually loses, while an active rook that keeps checking often saves the game.
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The weaker side's rook takes up position behind the opponent's passed pawn and uses checks to stop the king advancing it in peace.
A passive rook is tied to one square and gradually squeezed out, while an active one creates constant threats and forces the opponent to reckon with the checks.
Only when the pawn ending that results is definitely drawn: the king gets in front of the pawn in time, or into the corner with a rook's pawn.
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