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The Réti manoeuvre
A famous study: the king chases two goals at once and saves a lost-looking game.
Advanced · Pawn endgames · 2 steps. On Chess Castles, Chess Guru reads each step aloud in English, Hindi or Marathi while the moves play on the board, and you can practise any position against the engine.
Step 1
This is a famous study by Richard Réti from 1921. The white king seems far too slow to catch the black h-pawn, and White's own pawn on c6 looks lost. Yet White draws!
Step 2
Moves: 1.Kg7 h4 2.Kf6 h3 3.Ke6 h2 4.c7 h1=Q 5.c8=Q+ Ka5 6.Qc2 Qa1
The secret is the diagonal: a king walking diagonally moves toward two places at once. Each step brings it closer both to the h-pawn and to its own c-pawn. Black must spend time, and in the end both sides make a queen: draw.
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More lessons in Pawn endgames
- King leads the pawn: Walk your pawn to the last rank with the king in front as a bodyguard.
- The opposition: When kings face each other, the side NOT to move wins the battle.
- The rule of the square: Can the king catch the pawn? Draw a square and you know at once.
- The outside passed pawn: A passed pawn far from the kings drags the enemy king away.
- Key squares: Reach the magic squares in front of your pawn and the win is certain.
Next lesson: Rook against pawn: count the moves