Reti maneuver
The Reti maneuver is a king walk that heads for two goals at once, usually stopping a distant passed pawn while also supporting the king's own pawn, so the opponent cannot defend against both threats.
Also called: Reti's king walk
Richard Reti published his famous study in 1921, and it still surprises students. White has a king on h8 and a pawn on c6; Black has a king on a6 and a pawn on h5. By the rule of the square the white king cannot catch the h-pawn, and the black king stands close enough to catch White's pawn, yet White draws.
The trick is a diagonal king walk that carries two threats at once. After Kg7 and then Kf6, the king both approaches the h-pawn and heads toward the c-pawn's path, so a move toward c6 supports it. If Black runs the h-pawn, the white king arrives to help the c-pawn promote. If instead the black king spends its moves taking the c-pawn, the white king uses the time to catch the h-pawn.
The lesson reaches beyond this one study. A king on a diagonal can threaten two things whose distances look unrelated on a straight line. Use it whenever you must stop a far-off pawn and support your own at once. The common mistake is to chase one pawn only, which loses to the other plan. Look for the square from which both goals are reachable.
Also worth reading is Shouldering. Shouldering is a king maneuver in which one king steps into a square that cuts the opposing king off from a pawn or from the route toward it, so the opponent cannot approach.
Compare it with Theoretical draw. A theoretical draw is a position in which perfect play by both sides leads to a draw, so neither player can force a win no matter how many moves are left.
If "Reti maneuver" has cost you half a point, a first lesson is a good place to find the pattern behind it: George Li goes through your games and builds a plan.
Related terms
The rule of the square is a shortcut for a lone pawn racing an enemy king: draw a square from the pawn's square up to its promotion square, and the king catches the pawn only if it stands inside or can step in.
A passed pawn has a clear road to promotion as far as enemy pawns are concerned: none stands ahead of it on its own file or the two neighboring files, so the opponent must spend a piece or the king to stop it.
King activity describes how freely a king can take part in the endgame, by centralizing, attacking enemy pawns and supporting its own, and the more active king frequently decides otherwise equal positions.
Shouldering is a king maneuver in which one king steps into a square that cuts the opposing king off from a pawn or from the route toward it, so the opponent cannot approach.
A pawn promotion race is a position where both sides push passed pawns toward promotion, and the result depends on who queens first and what the new queen can do.
A theoretical draw is a position in which perfect play by both sides leads to a draw, so neither player can force a win no matter how many moves are left.
Guides that go further
What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid.
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A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li.
Want to spot this in your own games?
A first lesson starts with your games: George reviews them and builds a study plan around what he finds.