Rook against knight: holding the draw — Chess Library

Rook against knight is drawn when the defenders stay together — and lost surprisingly often when they do not. The knight is the awkward piece to defend with, because it is the one that can be trapped.

Lesson

White to move. Main line: 1. Rf5 Ne6 2. Kg3 Kg7

A knight separated from its king is in real danger: it moves slowly, it cannot lose a tempo, and a rook can take away its squares one at a time. Keeping it beside the king removes every one of those problems.

That is the difference from the bishop version. A bishop can defend itself from a distance along a diagonal; a knight has to be physically next to help, so the defence is more precise even though the verdict is the same.

Verified as a draw against the tablebase, with each move in the line checked to hold it. The practical lesson is the same as with the bishop: know which endings are drawn before you trade into them.