Endgame. Queen vs Rook

Introduction

Queen vs Rook is a heavy piece ending well in most cases is a win for the Queen but you must achieve the technique in practical terms because it's not easy to grasp. As we will see in an example even elite GMs can botch it (look at the Morozevich-Jakovenko game).

A bit of theory and analysis

Let's start by a basic analysis  The Philidor position. Philidor could be called the first endgame theoretician as it was so underdevelope this part of the game that any discovery supposed a great step forward. So let's see the Philidor position in this Q vs R endgame: 

.So if you see this position is winning for white. The clue is that the wKing wants to get near her peer but the bRook, protected by her King can check perpetually the wKing so here the clue is the wQ that is going to cover diagonally one of the 3 squares in front of the bKing so if the Rook goes to check on that square it will be hanging and taken and white wins.

If you looked at the Philidor position blacks Rook is trying to protect his position with a 2nd rank defence. That means the Rook just in front of her King moves the Rook back and forth with the intention to parry all of whites threats. Let's post another example of the 2nd. rank defence.

The last position and technique we must know is the third rank defence, which is the most effective way to defend, and the most difficult way to crack by white, although with correct play is a win. But this is a case when you can botch winnable positions

Some practical examples of Queen vs Rook endgame 

After looking at all these positions and manoeuvers is a matter to practice against an engine to grasp the technique firmly. 

Let's look at our first game-example:

We see that all is about pushing the bKing towards the side of the board and then in a corner you just execute the Philidor position you have to master by now.

2nd. game-example

This was quite recent so I didn't have to search in books or elsewhere. Vincent Keymer is really a talent. I think he will cross the 2800 barrier in not a long time. And Tabatabaei is a fine player too. Before Iranians talents like the mentioned or Parham were shadowed by the rising shine of Alireza Firouzja. But now that the latter has switched to France we can check that other rising stars are coming. That's because the Iranian government is supporting chess, something similar that what it's happening in Uzbekistan.

Enough talking and let's check the endgame of these youngsters:

Drawing tricks and how to botch winning positions

In study solving you realize that having white the move, blacks defence is provoking stalemate tricks while white will try to pose the opponent in zugzwang. This two situations, stalemate tricks to solve almost lost positions and zugzwang, to push the weaker to a worse position, they are two very useful concepts in endgame play.

Let's check in form of a puzzle, how you would draw the next position:

And the last game-example is from one of my favorite players, Alexander Morozevich. In 2006 he was in his top form and winning a tournament in Pamplona (Spain) easily. But in one game vs.Jakovenko he had a winable Q vs. R endgame and he botch it stalemating his opponent. 

Lets have a look of another Morozevich catastrophes:

And that's it. Hope that following this post you get a better idea of how to win this winnable endgame and if you are in the weaker side, don't forget that 3rd.rank defence is the most effective and that there might be stalemate tricks.

Bye