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The rook's pawn: a draw with the king in the corner

The edge (rook's) pawn is the exception in king and pawn against king. If the defending king reaches the corner in front of the pawn there is no win: the attacking king has nowhere to stand to push him aside - the edge of the board is in the way - and stalemate results.

Here White has the king on b6 and a pawn on a6; Black has the king on b8. Black to move, and it is a draw (per the tablebases): the black king stays by a8 and the pawn cannot be escorted home.

The lesson: a rook's pawn follows a special rule - once the defending king reaches the corner, king and a single rook's pawn cannot win. So always check endings like this for the corner stalemate.

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How to save the game as the weaker side

  1. 1Walk the king to the queening corner of the rook's pawn - that is the main aim of the defence.
  2. 2Once in the corner, do not leave it: any step aside loses.
  3. 3Use stalemate: a king with no moves when it is your turn gives a draw.
  4. 4Even with the enemy king right beside the pawn the position stays drawn, so long as your king reached the corner.

Common mistakes

  • Stepping the king away from the corner in an attempt to attack the pawn.
  • Writing the position off as lost and trading away the last chance of stalemate.
  • Forgetting that the rule only applies to an edge pawn: with any other, the position is lost.

Common questions

Why does a rook's pawn often fail to win?

The weaker side's king reaches the corner in front of the pawn in time. From there it cannot be dislodged, and attempts to attack lead to stalemate.

What should the defending side do?

Walk the king to the pawn's queening corner as fast as possible and stay there, using the stalemate resources.

Are there exceptions?

Yes: if the weaker side's king is cut off from the corner, or the stronger side has an extra piece, the position is won.

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