Lesson
White to move. Main line: 1. Kf5 Rb6 2. e5 Ra6 3. Rh7 Rb6 4. Rg7 Ra6
1...Rb6 keeps the white king off the sixth rank. Black does not check too early and does not abandon the barrier when White pushes the pawn.
The rook simply waits between a6 and b6 while White’s rook searches for progress. The king cannot cross the sixth rank, and pushing the pawn again would place it directly on the rook’s line.
Philidor is Lucena’s defensive counterpart: king in front of the pawn, rook on the third rank, then checks from behind. Knowing both positions tells you which setup to pursue.
The defence that saves half your rook endgames
If the Lucena tells you when you are winning, the Philidor tells you when you are safe. It is a rook endgame a pawn down that holds a draw with correct technique — and a pawn down is a very common place to be.
The engine confirms the assessment: every reasonable move in this position evaluates within a few hundredths of zero. There is nothing to find, only something to know.
Third rank, then behind
The method has two stages. First, put your rook on your third rank and leave it there, which stops the enemy king from advancing to the sixth. Then, the moment the pawn advances to the sixth rank itself, drop the rook to the back rank and check from behind.
The second stage works because the advanced pawn now blocks its own king from sheltering from the checks. The defending rook can check forever.
Why players lose it anyway
The usual failure is impatience: moving the rook off the third rank early, or starting the checks before the pawn has advanced, at which point the attacking king simply walks towards the rook and the checks run out.
That is why this is worth drilling rather than reading. The position is drawn, but only for a defender who does the two stages in the right order.
The defensive setup shown: Around 0.00 throughout. Correct defence holds comfortably.
Alternative rook and king moves in the line: Also near 0.00 — no first move wins for the attacker, so the draw is about method, not about finding one move.
Rook on the third rank first; checks from behind only once the pawn commits to the sixth.
Doing the two stages in the wrong order turns a draw into a loss.
A position being theoretically drawn is a claim about technique, not a promise.
Source: The Philidor position — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philidor_position