Typical positions
In both positions white is to move. Guess the result!
History of this Endgame
Probably, the first name to come into mind is Philidor's, although he wasn't the first to analyze this endgame. In 1777, he gave two positions with fortresses: one is a true fortress, but the second doesn't hold, and he presented the cumbersome method to break it.
fortress
pseudo-fortress
In 1766, 11 years earlier than Philidor, Cozio also gives two positions:
White sets up a fortress by 1. Rf3
pseudo-fortress
Although he doesn't show positions, Pietro Carrera in 1617 gives a pretty accurate description of this endgame: "A Queen has no power against a Rook and Pawn that has not moved, provided it be not a Rook's Pawn, and the Rook be defended by the Pawn having the King behind, or on the side of the Pawn, and the adversary's King before the Pawn, for the Rook always moving so as to be defended by the Pawn, and the King always remaining near his Pawn, the adverse King is prevented from approaching; but if the adverse King were behind the Pawn the game might be won; the game is drawn in the same manner if the Rook be defended by a Knight or Bishop."
No other trace of this endgame can be found in the earlier printed books, but there was a surprising discovery in the El Escorial Manuscript which contains another position from our endgame!
The Spanish manuscript (dated ~1500) is preserved in the Real Biblioteca del Monasterio de El Escorial, Madrid. According to some theories, its author is probably Francesch Vicent, who in 1495 published the first printed chess book in the world (unfortunately lost) in the Catalan language. Lucena's 1497 book is probably a partial translation of that into Spanish, and Francesch Vicent, "Lucena" and even "Damiano" were the same persons!
With reversed colours, the diagram looks like this:
El Escorial MS
(~1500)
In the manuscript, the following method to draw is given: The Rook gives check on e6. (After the white king plays somewhere,) play the black King where you want. Then after every check by the Queen, go with him around the Pawn. The Queen alone will never be able to get it. The white King cannot pass, the Rook forbids him to do so. But be careful, all this is true if the Pawn is not on the side of the board! Because if it were there, it would be extremely difficult to make a draw because the King would not be able to go around his Pawn.
We should add that pushing the pawn (1... d6+??) would be a losing mistake. The fortress holds only with the pawn on its original square.
Theoretical Positions
A similar fortress can be successfully set up with the pawn on the 2nd and 6th rank, or on the b-file.
In the case of the Rook's Pawn, there is a tricky exception with a pawn on a6. The following position is a fortress:
fortress
On the other hand, if we switch the white King and Queen, the fortress can be broken. The white King is best placed on the a-file!
pseudo-fortress
Studies
Tiny Endgames
1999
Draw
1. Rg8+! 1. Rb2+? Ka7! -+ 1... Kb7 2. Rg7+ Kb6 3. Rg6+ Kb5 4. Rg5+ Kc4 5. Rg4+ Kc3 6. Rb4! Qd5+ 7. Ka1! Qd3 8. Rb2! =
Этюд и теоретически эндшпиль
2002
Draw
Thematic try: 1. Rf1? Qe3+ 2. Kd1 Kg8! 3. f7+ Kf8 -+
Solution: 1. O-O! Qg3+ 2. Kh1 Ke8! 3. f7+ Kf8 4. Rf2! Qxf2 stalemate
