How to stop a pawn with your king
Learn to draw king against king and pawn as a pattern: stand in front of the pawn, face the white king, step the way it steps, and go straight back when pushed.
Stand in front, face the king
The whole defence is one pattern. Stand in front of the pawn and face the white king with one square between you. When it steps aside, step the same way.
White wants d6, e6 or f6, the key squares in front of the pawn. Play Ke7: the kings face each other with one square between, and White has to give way. Ke7 Kf5
2. Kf5 White steps aside to f5, aiming for f6.
Step the same way. Play Kf7: you face the white king again, and f6 stays covered. Kf7 Ke5
3. Ke5 That got White nowhere, so its king goes back to e5.
Face it again: play Ke7. Ke7 Kd5
4. Kd5 Now White tries the other side, d5.
The same, the other way. Play Kd7: the kings face each other on the d-file. Kd7 e5
5. e5 The white king can't get past, so White pushes the pawn instead.
Each time the white king stepped aside, your king stepped the same way and faced it again. It never reached a key square, so White pushed the pawn.
Straight back, then stalemate
Once the pawn moves up, get back in front of it. When it pushes you back, go straight back along its file: that ends in stalemate.
Get back in front of the pawn: play Ke7. d6, e6 and f6 stay covered. Ke7 e6
6. e6 White pushes again. The pawn on e6 takes d7 and f7 from you.
You have to give ground. Go straight back along the pawn's file: play Ke8. Kd8 and Kf8 look just as good, but they lose. Ke8 Kd6
7. Kd6 The white king comes up to d6.
Face it: play Kd8, on the same file as the white king. Kd8 e7+
8. e7+ The pawn steps up with check.
Straight back in front of the pawn: play Ke8. Ke8 Ke6
9. Ke6 Ke6 was White's only way to keep the pawn, and it is stalemate: your king has no move and is not in check.
A draw by stalemate. Any other king move would have let you take the pawn. The whole pattern: stand in front, face the king, step the way it steps, and go straight back when pushed.
Rook pawn: run to the corner
Against a pawn on the h-file it is simpler. Reach the corner in front of it, and White can never drive you out.
White wants g7 to shut you out of the corner. Play Kf8: it guards g7 and g8 and heads for h8. Kf8 h5
2. h5 White pushes the pawn.
Keep heading for the corner: play Kg8. Kg8 h6
3. h6 And again: h6.
The corner is free. Play Kh8 and stay there. Kh8 h7
4. h7 h7 is stalemate: your king has no move and is not in check.
A draw: White can never drive your king out of the corner. Against a rook pawn, just run to the corner.
Key ideas
- Stand in front of the pawn, on its file.
- Face the white king with one square between the kings. That is the opposition: with White to move, it has to give way.
- When the white king steps aside, step the same way and face it again.
- When the pawn pushes you back, go straight back along its file. That ends in stalemate.
- Against a rook pawn, just reach the corner. White can never drive you out of it.
Common mistakes
- Stepping back diagonally instead of straight back on the pawn's file: with your king on e7 in front of a pawn on e6, Kd8 and Kf8 lose, Ke8 holds.
- Going toward the pawn instead of in front of it, which lets the white king walk round you.
- Not stepping the same way as the white king, so it reaches a key square.
- Against a rook pawn, drifting to the centre instead of heading for the corner.