The Philidor position: the third-rank defence

The Philidor position is the defender's answer in rook and pawn against rook, analysed by François-André Danican Philidor in 1777. With your king in front of the pawn, two moves hold the draw: keep your rook on your third rank, and once the pawn advances, go to the back rank and check from behind.

The defence, played out

You have Black. Your king is on e8 in front of White's e-pawn; your rook is on the sixth rank, your third.

White to move. Step through the defence.

Rook on the third rank

1...Ra6. The rook stays on the sixth rank, so White's king can't come forward to d6 or e6. Black can wait here with the rook along the rank.

The mistakes leave the rank: 1...Rb7? Rxb7 loses the rook, and 1...Rb8? Rh8+ lets White's king in.

The pawn advances: check from behind

2.e6 takes away the shelter, but it also means White's king has nowhere to hide from checks behind it. 2...Ra1! The rook drops to the first rank.

3...Rd1+, 4...Re1+, 5...Rd1+. Check from behind, and keep checking. White's king can't escape the checks without leaving the pawn, and it's a draw.

Waiting on the side now loses: after 3.Kd6, any rook move that doesn't check, such as 3...Ra2?, runs into Rh8 mate.

The idea to remember

Rook on your third rank while the pawn hasn't moved; as soon as it advances, go to the far end and check from behind. Its winning partner, the position the attacker aims for, is the Lucena.

Train it

This is one of the endgame techniques OptiChess teaches as a walkthrough: the moves play themselves until a moment that matters, then you find the move, checked against the tablebase. More endings are in the chess endgame trainer.

Try it. Real positions, set at your level, every answer checked against the board. No account needed to start.

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