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A pawn is referred to by the file on which it stands: a rook pawn is on the a- or h-file, a knight pawn is on the b- or g-file, a bishop pawn is on the c- or f-file. A central pawn is a queen pawn or a king pawn, on the d- or e-file. When designating a position as a win or a draw, optimal play by both sides is assumed.
A rook and a rook pawn always win against the wrong bishop, as in this position. The defender has the wrong bishop if it is the one on the same color as the pawn's promotion square. The winning procedure is to give up the pawn at the right time to get to a winning rook versus bishop endgame. If the bishop was on the other color, the defender ...
In a king and pawn versus king endgame with a rook pawn, the defending king only has to get in front of the pawn to draw the game. In contrast, in the endgame with a bishop and the wrong rook pawn, getting the defending king in front of the pawn will not necessarily draw. In this position from Edmar Mednis, White wins if it is their move. 1 ...
Being a five-piece endgame, the rook and bishop versus rook endgame has been fully analysed using computers. Endgame tablebases show that 40.1% of the legal positions with this material are theoretical wins, but that includes many unnatural positions that are unlikely to occur in games.
A rook and a pawn versus a minor piece: normally a win for the rook but there are some draws. In particular, if the pawn is on its sixth rank and is a bishop pawn or rook pawn, and the bishop does not control the pawn's promotion square, the position is a draw. [55] See Wrong bishop.
Rook, bishop, and knight versus rook and bishop – good winning chances, probably a win if the bishops are on opposite colors; Rook, bishop, and knight versus rook and knight – thought to be a win. [104] Later tablebase analysis confirmed that rook and two minor pieces versus rook and one minor piece is a general win. [65]
The modern consensus is that the side with the two bishops need at least a pawn when facing rook and knight, even then the side with the two bishops is underdog. William Steinitz reckoned that often two bishops and two pawns are superior against rook and knight. A rook and bishop usually work better together than a rook and knight in the endgame.
Note that the bishop and wrong rook pawn ending (i.e. where the pawn is a rook pawn whose promotion square is the color opposite to that of the bishop) in the diagram is a draw even if the pawn is on the seventh rank or further back on the a-file. Heading for a bishop and wrong rook pawn ending is a fairly common drawing resource available to ...