Hold the draw for 16 moves · You play black
ProThe most important drawing method in rook endgames. The defending rook sits on the third rank (from the attacker’s view) and stops the enemy king from advancing. Once the pawn advances, the rook drops back and checks from behind.
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Playing Black. Your king on e8 sits on the queening square of the e-pawn, still on e4; the white king stands beside it on e5, the white rook on b7 holds the seventh rank, and your rook is on a2. White wants Kd6 or Kf6 next. Your first move stops that; then you hold for sixteen moves.
Your first move puts the rook on the sixth rank, directly in front of the white king, and there it stays; the king can shuffle along the fifth rank all day. White has nothing better than e5, and that is your cue: the rook drops to the first rank. Now the white king has no shelter from checks from behind except in front of its own pawn, where it blocks the pawn. Your king stays on e8, d8 or f8.
Where it goes wrong: leaving the rook on a2 'in case' and waiting with the king. White plays Kd6, the rook checks on b8 at the right moment, and your king is driven off the queening square. The set-up also needs timing: once a pawn reaches the sixth with its king beside it, you need the short-side defence instead.
Play Black. The first move is the whole lesson: place the rook, then do nothing with it until the pawn moves. When e5 comes, switch at once to checks from behind. Sixteen moves without losing a piece or letting the pawn promote is the draw, and if Stockfish never pushes, that is the draw too.
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