The rook's pawn: why king and a-pawn against king is a draw

A pawn on the a- or h-file, the rook's pawn, is the weakest in a king and pawn ending. If the defending king reaches the corner in front of it, it can't be driven out: the game ends in stalemate, or the pawn falls. So the defender's whole task is to get there.

The defence, played out

You have Black. White's king and a-pawn are on the queenside; your king heads for a8.

White to move. Step through Black's run to the corner.

Head for the corner

1...Kc7. Not towards the pawn itself, but towards the corner in front of it. 1...Kd7 also gets there. Moves that hang back in the middle, like 1...Kd5? or 1...Ke6?, are too slow: White's king or pawn gets in first.

2...Kb8. Black is there, and from a8 and b8 the king can't be driven away: everything White tries ends in stalemate or lets the king stay.

Into the corner

5...Ka8. After 6.a7, Black's king has no legal move but isn't in check: stalemate, a draw. 5...Kc8? lets the pawn through.

The idea to remember

Against a rook's pawn, race your king to the corner in front of it. Once there, nothing can force it out.

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. A bishop that can't control the corner gives the same draw: see the wrong bishop. 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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