The Prokeš maneuver is a tactic in chess

Chess

Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

 that enables a rook

Rook (chess)

A rook is a piece in the strategy board game of chess. Formerly the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes...

 to draw

Draw (chess)

In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...

 against two advanced pawns

Pawn (chess)

The pawn is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces...

 in a chess endgame. Ladislav Prokeš

Ladislav Prokeš

Ladislav Prokeš was one of the most prolific composers of endgame studies in chess. He was born and died in Prague....

 composed an endgame study

Endgame study

An endgame study, or just study, is a composed chess position—that is, one that has been made up rather than one from an actual game—presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find a way for one side to win or draw, as stipulated, against any moves the other side...

 in 1939 which illustrated the Prokeš maneuver for the first time. The solution begins

1.Kg4 e2

2.Rc1+ Kd4

3.Kf3 d2

and Black threatens to promote a pawn, which would win. But White forces the draw with

4.Rc4+! Kd3

5.Rd4+! Kxd4

6.Kxe2 Kc3

7.Kd1 Kd3 stalemate

Stalemate

Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. A stalemate ends the game in a draw. Stalemate is covered in the rules of chess....

.

The idea is that, by vacating the c1 square on the fourth move, White's rook

Rook (chess)

A rook is a piece in the strategy board game of chess. Formerly the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes...

 prevents Black's pawn from capturing on the c1 square. The white king

King (chess)

In chess, the king is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that its escape is not possible . If a player's king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If this cannot be...

 is then able to reach the d1 square, stopping the pawn. The position after 6.Kxe2 is drawn, see king and pawn versus king endgame.