King + Pawn vs King: defending

About this endgame

The opposition, seen from the side with the bare king. Your lone king is on e8; White has a king on e5 and a pawn on e4, and it is your move. Stand in the right place and White can never queen. Stand one square wrong and the pawn walks through. Sixteen moves to hold.

What you will learn

• 01 Which single first move holds the draw, and why the other four lose.
• 02 How to mirror the white king when it steps sideways along the fifth rank.
• 03 Where your king goes when the pawn moves up, and why the ending finishes in stalemate.

The defence

Your king belongs in front of the pawn, facing the white king with one square between them. Here that means Ke7: the kings on e7 and e5 look at each other across e6, and now White has to give way. Kd7, Kd8, Kf7 and Kf8 all lose, because they let the white king climb to the sixth rank in front of its pawn, and from there it wins whatever you do.

From then on, copy. If the white king goes to d5, you go to d7; if it goes to f5, you go to f7. When White pushes the pawn, step straight back in front of it: with the pawn on e6 the only square is e8, because from d8 or f8 the white king takes the square beside the pawn and escorts it home.

The end is always the same picture. The pawn checks on e7, your king stands on e8, and the white king on e6 leaves you without a legal move: stalemate. The drill counts both the stalemate and sixteen moves of holding as the draw.

How to practise it

Play Black. The first move decides everything, so look before you touch the king. After that the rule is short: face the white king, and when the pawn moves, go straight back.

Questions people ask

Can a lone king draw against king and pawn?

Often. If the defending king gets in front of the pawn and keeps the opposition, the attacker cannot force the pawn through. It loses once the attacking king reaches the sixth rank ahead of its pawn.

Why does this defence end in stalemate?

Because White runs out of ways to make progress. With the pawn on e7, your king on e8 and the white king on e6, Black has no legal move. Any other king move by White lets your king capture the pawn.