Chess Endgame Study: The Philidor Position

[JJTheBigDog]

Fischers Fritz fischt frische Fische. Frische Fische fischt Fischers Fritz

[arunbikashdas]

Even after 4 years these videos look great!

[kostasmouratidis]

At 3.00 after Rh6 then Ke4 planning to go on f5-g5 could bring any results?

[cubnoble]

So Lucena is a win (for side with pawn)and Philidor is a draw if played correctly. Is that right?

[byakuugan86]

/watch?v=srkFPdIdl6k

[Jonchess]

There's an error along the way here. When white plays rf8 black can play r*e6*!

[mark444444444]

Very well instructed video, Cheers!

[theAwsomBeaverrr]

5:11 what if Rd8?

[alexhope77]

@theAwsomBeaverrr

After black moves Rd8 (blocking a check), white exchanges the rooks and promotes the pawn.

[SpiritRunnerofGod]

love your videos keep em comin.Im tryin to master the game of chess.is it possible to checkmate wit just a knight and a king vs a king

[sighisoaraa]

in the intro black makes the first move ^^

[lazimofo90]

the philidor defense is popular on yahoo

[raptriforcee]

At 5:00 Re1 instead of Rd1 is a draw.

[IEatNubs6]

Nice video, Can you make a video on the Centurini's Position?

[binarygina]

5:48 is a draw, Rf8 Rxe6+ Kxe6 Kxf8

[Littlewhitelephant]

@binarygina Yes, since R:F8 is a draw, shouldnt he play R:D6 in order to win ?

but actually I dont know ... :-(

[adhdboy699]

wait i know this prob seems stupid and there isa easy explanation but im new to chess but at 3:19 could'nt the pawn go to e6 and have the king as a protector?

[arandomperson240]

in your second example, 9... Rxe6+ would have drawn.

[rookman64]

endgame studies are always useful! Good job. I am president of the Cornell Chess Club and I'm thinking about going over common endgame positions on Fridays for a bit

[TheOpinionatedPerson]

I think you made a mistake. At 5:15, black can block with the rook.

[coolrusst]

Good video ! I watched a few others about the Alekhine defence ,the English game and the polish game ! Used a few of them in some games they helped out ! R u from Canada ? And is it possible for someone to become a master at chess through study and dedication ? Or do they have to posses some kind of genius ?

[triusyteee]

In 5:48 is your mistake for Rf8, because after Re6 is a draw=!!!!! :) But all your videos are good :)

[billbrock1958]

Good catch at 5:48 !

White of course wins easily by 1.Ra8-a2 with the same idea of driving the Black king off the g-file. and if 1...Re1-g1 2.Ke8 etc.

[lewiszim]

Sorry I made a type O I meant to say black will lose after the rooks are traded off.

[lewiszim]

hey jrobichess at 5:22 white is not threatening mate because black can just move Rd8, granted white will lose anyway after the rooks are traded down but black is not threatening mate with Ra8

[Wismer1987]

of course

[MJtheKandyman]

wat do you mean by fritz vs fritz match?

[jrobichess]

A computer engine vs computer engine. Thanks for checking out the vid!

[Meesago]

Computer vs computer a suspect.

[colourmegone]

@MJtheKandyman Fritz is one of the most popular computer chess programs and is extremely useful. You can download an 'evaluation' copy, which is just as strong as the commercial product (my version claims a rating of 3200+), just do a search for 'Fritz chess'. If you're serious about playing I would suggest that you buy Fritz if you can afford it. It's now a essential tool for analysis. Try entering some of your games for a thorough and completely unbiased analysis.

[dachevashe]

@MJtheKandyman Almost every chess master has two World War II nascist veterans in his backyard to play chess.

[8mikomi8]

hey there.. take a look at this game and tell me what you think :)

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 f6 3. Nc3 e6 4. e4 Bd6 5. exd5 exd5 6. Nxd5 c6 7. Nc3 Be6 8. Qe2

Ne7 9. Qxe6 Rg8 10. d5 h6 11. Bc4 g5 12. dxc6 Nbxc6 13. Nd5 Qa5+ 14. Bd2 Qa4 15.

Nxe7 Bxe7 16. Qxg8+ Bf8 17. O-O-O Rd8 18. Qf7# 1-0

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 f6 3. Nc3 e6 4. e4 Bd6 5. exd5 exd5 6. Nxd5 c6 7. Nc3 Be6 8. Qe2

Ne7 9. Qxe6 Rg8 10. d5 h6 11. Bc4 g5 12. dxc6 Nbxc6 13. Nd5 Qa5+ 14. Bd2 Qa4 15.

Nxe7 Bxe7 16. Qxg8+ Bf8 17. O-O-O Rd8 18. Qf7# 1-0

[Oswald1916]

The ...Rh1 draw isn't necessary in this position, true. But what if you don't have the time to get to the philidor position, say, with

W: Kf5, Ra7, pe5

B: Rb1, Ke8

White to move?

That's where the secondary defense is important, because after Kf6 you don't get to get to the Philidor (...Rb6+ e6 wins). It's pretty challenging, and Philidor is much more practical, but there are positions where the other defense is relevant. Yours just isn't one of them.

Good explanations, though.

[matttttes]

ahh, now i see ;) I didn't check out the move kf5 for white after rooks exchange

[matttttes]

hi, good video, but on 5:10, it's not a loosing position for black, because he can bring his rook up, and then there is a draw ;)

[jrobichess]

It's a lost position due to the white king being able to protect the queening square. Thanks for checking out the vid!

[xox0808]

Hi Jrobi, very good video, when you say that white is threaten check mate at 5:06 it isn't check mate, black can still block with its rook ? :)

[jrobichess]

Thanks for checking it out! It's still threatening checkmate in that position so the opposing player needs to keep that in mind before deciding on the final move.

[sidgar1]

@jrobichess How is it still threatening checkmate? If Ra8+, black replies with Rd8, blocking the check. If anything, this move threatens to eventually queen the pawn, not create checkmate with the rook.

[sidgar1]

@jrobichess cont'd: because after the rooks are traded off, White can force the win with Kf8, guarding the promotion square and eventually winning the game. But to say White was threatening checkmate at this position was inaccurate.

[whatbefalls13]

abe0023: It did threaten checkmate. Just because you can do something about it doesn't mean it's not threatening it. Also, another user asked how that would turn out (markfitz93) and you can read what jrobi replied with a few comments up.

[chickenmessiah]

At 5:49, black rook takes pawn with check, king takes pawn leaves the white rook hanging for a draw. Any other king move also loses the white rook.

[maxamix1]

i do agree with you, this position looks draw to me

[markfitz93]

in the second exaple u said white was threatening mate but black can just swing the rook down

[jrobichess]

That doesn't work out unfortunately - if black blocks the check with the rook white will trade, and then move the white king to F7 and secure the queening square. Black will be unable to stop the pawn from becomming a queen.

[Userz4fun]

at 3:49 cant white do checkmate with rook to a8?

[jrobichess]

No, the king can move to E7 - thanks for checking out the vid!

[ricesniper]

because it's black move.

[alaskaaksala123]

Jrobi,  very good video! Very clear and concise.keep it up!

[abe0023]

actually at 5:26 its not checkmate because the black rook can block the checking rook.

[lilondra]

it doesnt matter white will just trade and get his pawn up anyway

[SuperDieMaxx]

well yeah we know that, he was just saying that jrobi said that it threatened checkmate when it didn't.

[Wismer1987]

actually it is.. ..Rxd7 Kxd7 ...Kf7 1:0

[WastedGunner]

at 3:40, i have to state the importance that black MUST bring its rook down to one of the 4 lower ranks. Otherwise a back rank threat will force the white king to leave the area.

[Vonzi0000]

I like the Intro.

[DaEvilSlayer]

Excuse me, but Black makes a serious mistake at 5.50! Rxe6+ draws automatically.

[srn347]

There is a much easier way. Back rank defense.

[jrobichess]

No it doesn't - white can just take the rook once it takes the pawn, and totally loses but it's a lost position in that example anyway. That's why it's not good to go to H1 and start checking right away. Thanks for checking out the vid!

[Mossflower1994]

At 5:20 if Ra8+ then Rd8, this position can allow a draw.

[jrobichess]

Unfortunately it would lead to a win for white simple because of KF7 protecting the promotion squares. Thanks for checking out the video!

[nirajrm]

Hi,

Where can I practice this position online?

[jrobichess]

Hi nirajrm - I recommend practicing on an actual chess set, or if you prefer to work through things on the computer you can get the Babbas chess interface for freechess(dot)org and create your own PGN's and positions. Pretty much any viewer will work for that, but it's a nice stable one to use.

[nirajrm]

Thanks a lot jrobichess!

The name of interface is Babas! I have a question. Can I set the position and play agaist a computer from my desired position?

[jrobichess]

I don't think so - but it's possible. There are also engines like Fritz and Rybka and Chessmaster that you can set positions to play from. Those would be solid engines to practice with.

[ctian1]

There are online endgame practices. Check out GreenCastleBlock's thing for a link.

[sirchauce]

In the position at 5:24 you point out white is threatening mate but ignore blacks rook that can move up and interpose.

Of course, white rook would simply exchange rooks and the white king then moves up securing the queening square for the win so it is still a winning position for white.

[jrobichess]

That's correct - it would be a big mistake for black to do that. If played properly black can draw from the Philidor position all the time. Thanks for the comment and checking out the vid!

[ChessTheBlitzer]

very nice video, it is always good to refresh on rook endgames techniques, even top GMs forget rook endgame systems sometimes

[jrobichess]

Thanks Blitzer!

[John3ny]

Hi, I was wondering where do you play chess. A reply would be helpful

[jrobichess]

I play my live matches on the Free Internet Chess Server. Thanks for checking out the video John3ny!

[jrobichess]

That wouldn't work because the pawn is on the E-File.

[JacobsCoffee]

OK, I made a mistake there, but it doesn't make a difference. So WR-A1, WK-D5, WP-E5, BK-E8, BR-G6. WR->C7 BR->H6(doesn't matter) WR->C6 BR->H1 WK->E6 ->gg. The letters are confusing so sry for the mistake.

[jrobichess]

Still doesn't work because black can move his king to D8 attacking the rook on C7 which can't be defended, so if white moves the pawn as it can't move the king, it loses the rook, so white needs to move the rook again.

[JacobsCoffee]

In the position when WR is on A7, WK on D5, WP on D6, BR on G6 and BK on E8, white can move R to C7, BR can't move because it has to maintain the line between BK and WK, so black just makes some move, and then white moves the R to C6 - black is in deep sh*t :) - he has to either sacrifice the rook in which case it's game over, or move the rook away - then the WK can go in front of the WP and it's gg. Check it out :)/

[MediumKuriboh]

These endgames studies are very helpful, i always try to calculate and yet there is no need in most of cases.

Can you recommend a good book in chess for endgames please?

[Aleffewmo]

Unless I'm missing something, at 5:27 Ra8 isn't checkmate because black can play Rd8 blocking the check, and provoking a rook exchange.

[jrobichess]

It wouldn't be immediate checkmate but after the rook exchange all white needs to do is move its king to F7 after black takes the rook and there's no way to stop the pawn promoting to a queen.

[Aleffewmo]

True, I thought you meant that Ra8 would be mate. Anyways, very nice video and very instructional.

[jrobichess]

Thanks Aleffewmo!

[n1face]

so it looks like the key is trying to swing the rook onto the 6 file, could you move R to c7 over P to e6, then you would be able to drop the rook down to the 6 line and bridge with the king?

Also im looking for a good computer chess game, i hear you say fritz a lot is that the best software package to use? If not what program would you recommend (not online and online).

Thank you, and great job.

[jrobichess]

Hi n1face - thanks for checking out the video! I don't think RC7 would change anything as black could just move the rook back to H6 and if white then pushes the pawn black can still go to H1 and constantly check after king goes to D6.

As for the software I would definitely recommend Fritz. I should be getting Fritz 11 soon, and am very excited about it.

[GreenCastleBlock]

The only reason ...Rh1 draws is because of the bad position of the White Rook. After Rg7+ Kf8 Black gains a critical tempo by attacking the Rook.

If the White Rook were on b8 and not g8, then ...Rh1 Rb7+ K-any Kd6! and Black's King will be forced to the side...

[jrobichess]

Great comment Castle!

[thunderhead27]

i wanna see you and jrobi play against each other. i wonder would would win?

[airbourne777]

Aww man im second. Anyways gr8 vid Jrobi!

[jrobichess]

Thanks airbourne777!

[MaxJakeSam]

Good video as always, glad I could snag the 1st comment. :)

[jrobichess]

Thanks for checking out the video Max! =)