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The price of a single tempo in a rook ending

In endings with passed pawns a single tempo often settles everything: the same pieces placed slightly differently, or with the other side to move, give the opposite result. That shows up especially vividly in rook against connected passers.

Here White has the king on h2 and connected passers on a6 and b5; Black has the king on h5 and the rook on g1. Black to move, and it is Black who wins (per the tablebases): the rook gets behind the pawns in time and removes them - the one tempo falls to the defence.

The lesson: do not judge positions like this by eye from the pawn count. It is the exact counting of tempi that decides - who attacks the pawns first, or gets the king to safety first.

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How to count tempi

  1. 1Before every move, count who queens first - the difference is often a single tempo.
  2. 2Look for moves with check: they gain time without conceding anything.
  3. 3Check for the opponent's in-between checks - those are what change the result.
  4. 4Compare two plans by the number of moves, not by a general impression of the position.

Common mistakes

  • Making a «useful» move instead of a forcing one - in tempo endings that loses.
  • Not counting the opponent's checks when working out your own plan.
  • Trading rooks and losing a tempo on the transition to a pawn ending.

Common questions

Why does a tempo matter so much in rook endings?

The positions are forcing: one side queens and the other only just gets there. A single move turns a win into a draw.

How do you gain tempi?

With checks, in-between attacks and an exact king route - diagonally rather than round about.

How do you check your calculation?

Count the line right through to both pawns promoting and compare who queens first, and whether it comes with check.

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