Lucena position

Lucena position

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

A position where white wins with optimal play, regardless of who has the next move

The Lucena position is a position in chess endgame theory where one side has a rook and a pawn and the defender has a rook. Karsten Müller said that it may be the most important position in endgame theory.^[1] It is fundamental in the rook and pawn versus rook endgame. If the side with the pawn can reach this type of position, they can forcibly win the game. Most rook and pawn versus rook endgames reach either the Lucena position or the Philidor position if played accurately.^[2] The side with the pawn will try to reach the Lucena position to win; the other side will try to reach the Philidor position to draw.

Rook and any number of pawns endgames, which occur in 8–10% of all games,^[3][4] may simplify to the Lucena position. As it is a known win, the player with the pawn will often try to reach the Lucena position, while the other player will try to prevent it. There is an alternate method for winning this type of position that works only for pawns on the c-file through the f-file (see Rook and pawn versus rook endgame § Simple method for bishop pawns and central pawns).