The Philidor position: how to hold the draw

The position

Your opponent has a rook and a pawn, you have only the rook. But your king stands in front of the pawn, and then there is a defense that holds the draw. Here White defends: the king stands on e1, in front of Black's pawn, and the rook stands on the third rank.

Step 1: the third rank

As long as Black's pawn stays on e4, White's rook holds the third rank. Then Black's king can come no further, because the rook guards the whole rank. White waits with the rook along the rank and lets Black try.

Step 2: checks from behind

To make progress, Black eventually has to move the pawn, …e3. But then the king no longer has any shelter in front of it. Now White's rook goes as far away as it can and starts checking from behind. The king can't hide from the checks, and Black gets no further. A draw.

How not to do it

A common mistake is to let the rook become passive, for example by putting it on the first rank. Then Black's king gets in on the third rank, in front of its pawn, and wins.

Practice against the computer

Now you defend. The computer has Black and an extra pawn. Keep the rook on the third rank until the pawn moves up, and then check from behind. If you last twelve moves without the computer finding a win, you have done it.

Philidor

François-André Danican Philidor (1726–1795) was a French chess player and composer, and was considered the best chess player of his time. He analyzed this position in 1777.

Want to see the other side of the coin? In the Lucena position the attacking king has already gotten through, and then the pawn wins.

Updated October 28, 2026