Pawn Endgame

The Reti Study

Also known as: Reti's Endgame Study, Reti Maneuver

Composed by Richard Reti in 1921, this is one of the most famous endgame studies ever set: White to move and draw from a position that looks hopelessly lost. The white king on h8 seems far too distant to catch Black's h-pawn, and its own c-pawn looks too slow to survive. The secret is that a king moving on a diagonal makes progress toward two distant targets at once, as though it were in two places. Heading for the c8-corner, White's king at the same time shelters its own passed pawn and threatens to catch Black's runner. Black cannot parry both threats, and the game is drawn.

1. Kg7 h4 2. Kf6 Kb6 3. Ke5 h3 4. Kd6 h2 5. c7 h1=Q 6. c8=Q

The paradox

At first sight White is lost twice over: the black h-pawn will run in for a new queen, and White's own c-pawn seems too slow to matter, with the king marooned in the far corner. The resolution is that king distance in the endgame is counted in king-moves, not straight-line distance. A king that travels on a diagonal edges toward two goals at the same time.

That is exactly how the white king escapes here. By stepping toward the c8-corner it both draws nearer to its own passed pawn and keeps within reach of Black's runner, so it appears to be in two places at once. The same geometry underlies the rule of the square, which measures a king's true distance from a pawn.

The drawing line

The king sets off on its diagonal: 1.Kg7 h4 2.Kf6. Black keeps pushing the runner, but with 2...Kb6 the black king turns back to deal with the c-pawn, the escort White is relying on. 3.Ke5 h3 brings both pawns closer to promotion as the white king strides on.

Now the double purpose pays off: 4.Kd6 h2 5.c7, and the c-pawn queens next move because the king shelters it on the way in. 5...h1=Q 6.c8=Q makes the second queen, and with both sides promoting the game is a draw. The diagonal march created a threat Black could not answer on both wings.

Why it endures

The study is celebrated because it overturns the eye's first judgement so completely. A position that looks lost is held because the king's diagonal route achieves two aims in the moves that would otherwise cost only one, letting White meet both threats where meeting either alone seemed impossible.

Its lasting value is the lesson it teaches: a king in the endgame is only as far from a target as the number of moves it needs, and a clever path can serve two ends. That principle, and the rule of the square built on it, make this one of the most instructive studies ever composed.

Key ideas

• Reti's 1921 study is White to move and draw from an apparently lost position.
• A king moving diagonally makes progress toward two distant targets at once.
• White heads for the c8-corner, both supporting its c-pawn and chasing Black's h-pawn.
• King distance in the endgame is counted in king-moves, not straight-line distance.
• The diagonal march sets up a double threat Black cannot parry, and both sides queen for a draw.
• It is one of the most famous studies ever composed and the idea behind the rule of the square.

Typical plans

Related endgames

• The Rule of the Square
• The Opposition
• Key Squares