Key squares — the sixth rank always wins

White wins White to move · Pawn endgames · Difficulty about Elo 1000

The plan

The most important rule of thumb after the opposition — and here its boundary is measured, not just asserted. Place the king directly IN FRONT OF its pawn and the opponent in opposition facing it, and the position is a draw on the third, the fourth, and the fifth rank as soon as WHITE is to move; there it is won only if Black has to move. On the sixth rank exactly that flips: there White wins in BOTH cases, no matter who is to move and who has the opposition. That is the whole rule, and the number behind it is six. The key squares themselves are equally measured: of all the squares on the board, exactly three win for this pawn regardless of who moves first, namely c6, d6 and e6, and no fourth one. There is one exception, and it matters: checking the same position on every file, it wins on six files but stays drawn on the a- and the h-file — the rook pawn does not obey the rule. In the position itself, two of the four king moves win, and they are the two sideways ones; any retreat off the sixth rank gives up the point at once.

Rule of thumb: king on the sixth in front of the pawn always wins — except when the pawn stands on the edge.

Why this level: The sixth rank always wins: the first real rule

The solution, move by move

1. 1. Kc6 Stay to the side, not back! From c6 the king personally covers the advance d6-d7. Two of the four moves win, and they are exactly the two sideways ones. [%csl Gc6,Gd6,Ge6]
   Sideline 1. Ke5 The retreat off the sixth rank — and the win is already gone. 1… Ke7 2. d6+ Kd7 3. Kd5 Kd8 The only holding move: straight back in front of the pawn. From the fifth rank White needs the opposition, and Black won't give it to him. 4. Kc6 Kc8 Opposition! White can never get past the black king — a draw. The sixth rank was the whole difference.
2. 1… Kc8
3. 2. d6 Only now the pawn — under the protection of the king, which already lives on the sixth rank.
4. 2… Kd8
5. 3. d7 Black has no opposition left to offer: d7 drives him off the queening square. Of six moves only this one wins.
6. 3… Ke7 And now Black has only this one legal move left — the pawn on the seventh rank takes away everything else.
7. 4. Kc7 c7 and d8 are firmly in White's hands — the pawn queens. This too is the only winning move, here among ten. Remember: king on the sixth IN FRONT OF the pawn = the win is mechanical.
8. 4… Ke6
9. 5. d8=Q

More in Pawn endgames

• Distant opposition — opposition at a distance White wins
• The trebuchet — whoever moves loses White wins
• Blocked pawns — the outflank White wins
• The race — promoting with check White wins
• Triangulation — losing a tempo White wins
• The queen skewer — curse of the long diagonal White wins