Example from gameД«lack can win this position in as few as 13 moves with optimal play from both sides. When it is Black's turn to play in the Philidor position, the rook can be won in a few moves. It is usually easy for White to force Black into the Philidor position. Nunn describes the various retreat positions for the rook, the 'fourth, third, second' rank defenses, then the 'Philidor position'. Nunn describes that with the pieces in the center of the board the queen ought to force the rook towards the Philidor position. Qa5ДЄnd now it is back to the same arrangement, but Black has to move and is in zugzwang. This can be accomplished by triangulation: 1. If, on the other hand, White is to move in this position, he would like to be in this position except with Black to move. If Black is to move in this position, he quickly loses his rook by a fork (or gets checkmated). The position also occurs in the game Enrico Vroombout vs Luuk Van Kooten in 2007, where Vroombout failed to win. This position is a standard win, as White heads for the Philidor position with a queen versus rook. Qa7+ forces Black into a second-rank defense (defending king on an edge of the board and the rook on the adjacent rank or file) after 3. If the black king emerges from the back rank, 1. Qf4, so the queen can make checking maneuvers to win the rook with a fork if it moves along the third rank. For example, the winning move in the position shown is the counterintuitive withdrawal of the queen from the seventh rank to a more central location, 1. This defense is difficult for a human to defeat. The third-rank defense is when the rook is on the third rank or file from the edge of the board, his king is closer to the edge and the enemy king is on the other side (see the diagram). With perfect play, in the worst winning position, the queen can win the rook or checkmate within 31 moves. Normally, the winning process involves first winning the rook with the queen via a fork and then checkmating with the king and queen, but forced checkmates with the rook still on the board are possible in some positions or against incorrect defense.

In 1895, Edward Freeborough edited an entire 130-page book of analysis of this endgame, titled The Chess Ending, King & Queen against King & Rook. White can win this position in as few as 19 moves with correct play.ДЄ queen wins against a lone rook, unless there is an immediate draw by stalemate or due to perpetual check (or if the rook or king can immediately capture the queen). a book draw).Д«lack is employing the third rank defense. In some cases, one side of these endgames can force a win in other cases, the game is a draw (i.e. The assessment of endgame positions assumes optimal play by both sides. Grandmaster John Nunn wrote a book ( Secrets of Pawnless Endings) summarizing the research of endgame tablebases for several types of pawnless endings. On the other hand, many of the details and recent results are due to the construction of endgame tablebases. The study of some pawnless endgames goes back centuries by players such as FranГ§ois-AndrГ© Danican Philidor (1726вЂ“1795) and Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani (1719вЂ“1796).

Common pawnless endings (rook and minor pieces).

Other cases that occur occasionally are (1) a rook and minor piece versus a rook and (2) a rook versus a minor piece, especially if the minor piece is a bishop. Endgames without pawns do not occur very often in practice except for the basic checkmates of king and queen versus king, king and rook versus king, and queen versus rook.

The basic checkmates are types of pawnless endgames.

Chess positions with few pieces where none of them are a pawnДЄ pawnless chess endgame is a chess endgame in which only a few pieces remain, and no pawns.

Chess endgame tablebase 6 pieces