The Saavedra Position
One of the most famous endgames ever. White wins king-and-pawn vs rook only by underpromoting to a rook — a queen allows a stalemate trick. Tablebase-confirmed.
What you'll learn
The technique, move by move
Every line below is verified against an endgame tablebase — perfect play, no guesswork.
Saavedra: the c8=R underpromotion
1.c7 Rd6+ 2.Kb5 Rd5+ 3.Kb4 Rd4+ 4.Kb3 Rd3+ 5.Kc2 Rd4 6.c8=R Ra4 …
One step from a new queen.
Drill the The Saavedra Position
Practice randomly served positions and play them out against a perfect tablebase until you convert the win every time.
Open the Endgame Trainer →Related endgames to master
The first checkmate every player must own. Use the rook to cut the king off and walk your own king up to force the lone king to the edge.
King & Queen vs KingBox the lone king toward a corner with the queen a knight's-move away — and never stalemate. The fastest of the basic mates once the technique clicks.
Two Bishops vs KingCoordinate the bishops into a wall and herd the king to a corner. Trickier than it looks and a classic test of piece harmony.
Bishop & Knight MateThe hardest basic mate — the king can only be mated in a corner matching the bishop's colour. Learn the W-manoeuvre and the 50-move clock stops scaring you.