Where an elephant may bathe, or a gnat may drink.
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[Event "A Study"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Unknown"]
[Black "Unknown07"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "David Hayes"]
[BlackElo "0"]
[FEN "8/4k1K1/6P1/8/8/8/6r1/5R2 w - - 0 1"]
[SetUp "1"]
[TimeControl "0"]
[WhiteElo "0"]
{ One of the best known rook and pawn ending positions is "Lucena's Position."
The position is named after the author of the earliest known chess book dated
1497. Oddly, the book does not contain this position. A key element of the
position is placing white's rook exactly 5 rows away from the promotion row.
The Grandmaster Aron Nimzovich called this key move "building a bridge,"
because it shields white's king from harassing checks. A student of chess
should know this position very well. Note that the black king is pushed out
of the way of the advance pawn, but is restricting the movement of white's
king. White's king is ahead of the pawn leading it down the board for
eventual promotion. Note also that the black rook is where it should be
behind the passed pawn. Whenever white's king emerges from behind its pawn,
black will check it with his rook in a effort to prevent the pawn's
promotion.
It is a waste of time to push the black king further away. White's
rook is best position on a row next to the pawn fencing the black king away
for now. } 1. Kh7 { We begin by advancing the pawn as far as possible. } ( 1. Re1+ Kd6 2. Kf7 Rf2+ 3. Kg8 Rg2 4. g7 Rg3 5. Rh1 Ke7 6. Kh7 Kf7 7. g8=Q+ Rxg8 8. Rf1+ Ke6 9. Kxg8 { White wins with a large material advantage. } ) 1... Rh2+ 2. Kg8 Rg2 3. g7 Rh2 { Probably the best move that resists most. Black tries to
keep white's king bottled up in front of the pawn. } ( { Let's look at what will
happen if black keeps maximum pressure on the pawn. } 3... Rg4 4. Rh1 Kf6 5. Kf8 Rxg7 6. Rf1+ Kg6 7. Rg1+ Kf6 8. Rxg7 { White wins with a large material
advantage. } ) 4. Re1+ Kd7 ( { Black must not create a shield for white's king. } 4... Kf6 5. Kf8 Rg2 6. g8=Q Rxg8+ 7. Kxg8 { White wins with a large material
advantage. } ) 5. Re4 { This odd looking move is played to provide a future
shelter for the king. The rook moves exactly 5 rows from the promotion row.
Four rows is too close, and invites attack from black's king. Six or more
rows away is too far for the white king to reach its protection. } 5... Kd6 6. Kf7 Rf2+ 7. Kg6 Rg2+ 8. Kf6 Rf2+ 9. Kg5 Rg2+ 10. Rg4 { The "bridge" is complete. } 10... Rxg4+ 11. Kxg4 Ke7 12. g8=Q { White wins with a large material advantage. } 1-0