From: Rikard Nordgren <e7rikard <at> ETEK <dot> CHALMERS <dot> SE>
Date: 29 nov 1999
Subject: Forget the bare king rule!

Forget about the bare king rule! There is in practice no bare king rule.
At least the bare king rule would never be used and it is very specific.
I had a discussion with Mr Hodges about this and he stated that the bare
king rule was only applicable if a king and a gold faced a bare king.
This is it. This rule would never be used. In case of theoretical
endgames the gold could win anyway against a bare king (promotion to
rook and a simply rook mate...). In the chapter by Mr Schmittberger in
MSM, he has misinterpreted this rule and thus he writes that a promoted
ferocious leopard would win against a bare king. This is not true. This
would be a draw (this also according to my discussion with Mr Hodges).
So the solution to the question about the bare king rule is simple.
Forget it.

Rikard Nordgren