The Lucena position

White to move and win.

The most important winning position in rook endings. Your king is stuck in front of its pawn, until you build a bridge.

The idea

  1. Check the enemy king further away, to get room for your own.
  2. Bring your rook to the fourth rank: that is the bridge.
  3. Walk your king out, and block the checks with your rook.

More rook endings

All endgames · Practice · Openings