The Philidor position is the single most important defensive technique in rook and pawn against rook endings. It is the benchmark draw: the weaker side holds the position by keeping the enemy king from getting in front of the pawn. Black - the defending side - to move.
Philidor's method has two stages. First the defending rook sits on the third rank (counting from itself) and keeps the enemy king out. The moment the pawn advances and blocks that rank, the rook drops behind the king and starts checking - and there is nowhere to hide from the checks.
Rook endings are the commonest in practice, and the Philidor position together with its counterpart the Lucena are the two things everybody has to know. Understanding Philidor lets you save rook endings that look lost.
The best way to learn the technique is to play the Philidor position with your own hands: move the pieces on the board below, build the third-rank defence and see for yourself that the checks from behind save the game. The position is already set up - try to hold the draw.
Drag a piece onto the board, or click a piece and then click the squares. The cross beside the pieces sweeps every piece of that colour off the board, and a single piece can be dragged off the edge.
The pieces will be arranged into the chosen pattern.
It is the mating side to move. Find mate in one.
Openings, endgame positions and breakthrough studies - the set-up appears on the board.
Build your own position in the board editor, read up on the rules of chess or run a tournament on your own positions in the free app.
There are no club or arbiter roles in the app: the create button is available to everyone. You can announce a tournament today and run it this weekend.
Sign up to the Vibe Chess bot on Telegram - it carries the schedule of meetups and chess events across the cities we run in.
