Answers.Body: <p>No, you can't win.</p>
  <p>The best you can get on the queenside is to win the black rook against your pawn. Afterwards, the the R vs 2p endgame is a draw, and if anything it is White who should be precise.</p>
  <p>For instance : 1.Rc8 Rxa7 2.Kxa7 f3 3.Rg8 and you give vertical checks until the black king hides in front of a pawn, when you target the <em>other</em> pawn from behind :
  3...Kh3 4.Rf8 Kg2 5.Rg8 Kf1 6.Rh8 f2 7.Rxh4 Ke2 8.Rf4 f1Q 9.Rxf1 Kxf1 draw</p>
  <p>One trick : if the black king was in g5 instead of g4, you would win at once with 1.Rc5 Kg4 2.Ra5 and the Pa7 queens.</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2024-09-29T06:18:31.263Z
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Answers.Body: <p>This is a seven-piece endgame so you can always <a href="https://syzygy-tables.info/?fen=8/P1R5/1K6/7p/5pk1/8/8/r7_b_-_-_0_1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ask a tablebase</a>. This position is a tablebase draw.</p>
  <p>The first thing to note is that if Black trades their Rook for your pawn, then you can't really win. Your opponent's pawns are too advanced, and your King too far away. But you won't lose either, because you can always keep checking them with your Rook from behind, until they put their King on the h-file (whereupon you play Rf8, preventing the f-pawn from promoting) or on the f-file (whereupon you play Rh8 with the same idea).</p>
  <p>This is the basic defensive idea:</p>
  <pre><code>[FEN &quot;8/P1R5/1K6/7p/5pk1/8/8/r7 w - - 0 1&quot;]
  
  1. Rc5 {More about this move later.} Rxa7 2. Kxa7 f3 3. Rc8 {Standard is to go to the end of the board, since this maximizes the distance the King has to move to stop a frontal check.} f2 4. Rf8 Kg3 5. Rg8+ Kh2 6. Rf8 {Preventing the f-pawn from advancing.} Kg2 {Black obviously cannot allow Rxf2, so the King must return to the g-file.} 7. Rg8+ Kh2 8. Rf8 {Black has made no progress.} Kg2 9. Rg8+ Kf1 10. Rh8 {Neither Black pawn can advance.} Ke2 11. Re8+ Kd2 12. Rf8 {Black will have to agree to a draw sooner or later.}
  </code></pre>
  <p>Since you can't win, the question is: can you induce an inexperienced opponent to make a mistake? You can try, that's why the above line starts with 1. Rc5. If opponent doesn't realize you are threatening Ra5, then they might throw out 1...h4?? and lose. Another cheapo* you can try is, at the end of the above line, play 12. Rd8+. A careless player might think &quot;it's just another check&quot;, play 12...Kc2?? and lose after 13. Rf8 (the King can't get back in time to protect the f-pawn).</p>
  <p>*&quot;Cheapo&quot; is chess terminology for a cheap (i.e., not very sophisticated) trap.</p>
  
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Answers.Text: Thanks for the great answer! Your step-by-step explanation and chess boards gives me an idea of the situation. However, what if black does not Rxa7, i.e., what if they refuse to exchange rook for pawn? Will I have a chance to win?
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Answers.Text: @LukeL after 1. Rc5 the only other Black move that doesn't lose is 1...f3. You play 2. Ra5, forcing 2...Rxa5, and then both you and Black queen at the same time. A Q+P vs. Q endgame results. These endgames are [hard to judge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_and_pawn_versus_queen_endgame), however. Maybe 1. Rc5 is not the best in hindsight, you could go directly with 1. Rg7+ for the defensive setup in the diagram ...
Answers.UserDisplayName: Allure
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Answers.Text: I don't think you can induce your opponent into a mistake once White takes the enemy pawn. If anything it's White who should be careful and play accurately to keep the draw
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Body: <p>I just played a game a few hours ago on Chess.com. There's one particular point of time I'm interested.</p>
  <pre><code>[title &quot;White to move&quot;]
  [fen &quot;8/P1R5/1K6/7p/5pk1/8/8/r7 w - - 0 1&quot;]
  </code></pre>
  <p>Is there any possibility of me (white) winning in this scenario? My impression is that the best outcome is a draw (in the game I screwed up and lost). My opponent said that Hikaru Nakamura could've won even in this situation. So, can white win? If so, how? I'm pretty weak in chess, so if possible I would like a step-by-step walkthrough.</p>
  
Tags: <endgame><rook-endgame><winning>
Title: Can I possibly win in this kind of situation?
ThreadText: # Can I possibly win in this kind of situation?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2024-09-29)
  
  I just played a game a few hours ago on Chess.com. There's one particular point of time I'm interested.
  [title "White to move"]
  [fen "8/P1R5/1K6/7p/5pk1/8/8/r7 w - - 0 1"]
  
  Is there any possibility of me (white) winning in this scenario? My impression is that the best outcome is a draw (in the game I screwed up and lost). My opponent said that Hikaru Nakamura could've won even in this situation. So, can white win? If so, how? I'm pretty weak in chess, so if possible I would like a step-by-step walkthrough.
  
  **Tags:** endgame, rook-endgame, winning
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2024-09-29. Score: 17 | Accepted answer
  
  This is a seven-piece endgame so you can always ask a tablebase. This position is a tablebase draw.
  The first thing to note is that if Black trades their Rook for your pawn, then you can't really win. Your opponent's pawns are too advanced, and your King too far away. But you won't lose either, because you can always keep checking them with your Rook from behind, until they put their King on the h-file (whereupon you play Rf8, preventing the f-pawn from promoting) or on the f-file (whereupon you play Rh8 with the same idea).
  This is the basic defensive idea:
  [FEN "8/P1R5/1K6/7p/5pk1/8/8/r7 w - - 0 1"]
  
  1. Rc5 {More about this move later.} Rxa7 2. Kxa7 f3 3. Rc8 {Standard is to go to the end of the board, since this maximizes the distance the King has to move to stop a frontal check.} f2 4. Rf8 Kg3 5. Rg8+ Kh2 6. Rf8 {Preventing the f-pawn from advancing.} Kg2 {Black obviously cannot allow Rxf2, so the King must return to the g-file.} 7. Rg8+ Kh2 8. Rf8 {Black has made no progress.} Kg2 9. Rg8+ Kf1 10. Rh8 {Neither Black pawn can advance.} Ke2 11. Re8+ Kd2 12. Rf8 {Black will have to agree to a draw sooner or later.}
  
  Since you can't win, the question is: can you induce an inexperienced opponent to make a mistake? You can try, that's why the above line starts with 1. Rc5. If opponent doesn't realize you are threatening Ra5, then they might throw out 1...h4?? and lose. Another cheapo* you can try is, at the end of the above line, play 12. Rd8+. A careless player might think "it's just another check", play 12...Kc2?? and lose after 13. Rf8 (the King can't get back in time to protect the f-pawn).
  *"Cheapo" is chess terminology for a cheap (i.e., not very sophisticated) trap.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Thanks for the great answer! Your step-by-step explanation and chess boards gives me an idea of the situation. However, what if black does not Rxa7, i.e., what if they refuse to exchange rook for pawn? Will I have a chance to win?  
  > **username_2**: @LukeL after 1. Rc5 the only other Black move that doesn't lose is 1...f3. You play 2. Ra5, forcing 2...Rxa5, and then both you and Black queen at the same time. A Q+P vs. Q endgame results. These endgames are [hard to judge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_and_pawn_versus_queen_endgame), however. Maybe 1. Rc5 is not the best in hindsight, you could go directly with 1. Rg7+ for the defensive setup in the diagram ...  
  > **username_3**: I don't think you can induce your opponent into a mistake once White takes the enemy pawn. If anything it's White who should be careful and play accurately to keep the draw  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2024-09-29. Score: 3
  
  No, you can't win.
  
  The best you can get on the queenside is to win the black rook against your pawn. Afterwards, the the R vs 2p endgame is a draw, and if anything it is White who should be precise.
  
  For instance : 1.Rc8 Rxa7 2.Kxa7 f3 3.Rg8 and you give vertical checks until the black king hides in front of a pawn, when you target the *other* pawn from behind :
  3...Kh3 4.Rf8 Kg2 5.Rg8 Kf1 6.Rh8 f2 7.Rxh4 Ke2 8.Rf4 f1Q 9.Rxf1 Kxf1 draw
  
  One trick : if the black king was in g5 instead of g4, you would win at once with 1.Rc5 Kg4 2.Ra5 and the Pa7 queens.
  
  
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