The Power Of Two Pawns

MOST readers of this blog, I suspect, know two connected passed pawns on the sixth rank beat a rook if no other pieces can intervene.
It is a handy rule to bear in mind as it comes into play more frequently than might be thought.
If you are not sure of the rule, here is a fun way to test it, using an empty chessboard, two white pawns and a black rook.

It will be White to move

White goes first, and may place the pawns anywhere on their sixth rank.
You can then place your rook anywhere on the board.
White wins if either pawn can be promoted to a queen without being immediately captured. Black wins by capturing both pawns.
As long as White places the pawns next to each other, for example as in the diagram below, White wins wherever the rook is placed.

White wins

But note that the pawns must be connected.

Black to place the rook and win

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In the above diagram Black wins by placing the rook anywhere sensible on Black's first or second rank, for example on the a7 square.
Placing the rook behind one of the pawns loses as White simply advances the other pawn. Black also loses if the rook is placed on the same rank as the pawns.