There is no doubt that rook and pawn endings are a useful part of the game for every player to get to grips with. I often criticize juniors for castling in the opening but then not bothering to activate their rooks in the middlegame. Their assumption always seems to be that the minor pieces will do battle early on, and if the game is still going, then the rooks will come out to play later. Of course they should be trying to create ‘pawn breaks’ from the opening onwards in order to activate the ten-points-worth of firepower, but sometimes it’s like talking to a brick wall! Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh, but the fact still remains that at lower levels rooks are generally under-achievers in the middlegame and, with this non-confrontational approach, they are naturally the survivors. Hence rook endings tend to be the most common endgame type to arise.
By the way, that’s just single rook endings (or rook versus pawns). I haven’t said much on double rook endgames, partly because they are so rare and partly because the same principles apply, but twofold! Joking aside, the one assumption I have made for this series of tutorials is that the reader knows how to deliver checkmate with a king and rook against a bare king. With two rooks apiece the main difference is that the partnership is able to deliver checkmate without the aid of its monarch. They provide twice as much firepower and thus frequently enjoy doubling on the seventh rank and open files. Regarding the latter, that’s where more typically one pair is exchanged off, thus returning to the realms of these lessons.
There is a famous saying that ‘all rook endings are drawn’. This generalization is highly dubious, but as you work your way through the chapters you will begin to understand its basis. The fact is that, next to opposite-coloured bishop endings, your best chance for a share of the points when you are a pawn down is in a rook endgame. Indeed, that is reflected in the many examples that I use in which the defender salvages a draw thanks to active play and overall employment of the basic ideas I put forward. It’s probably true that the majority of rook endings do finish as draws but it’s one thing ‘knowing that’ and another ‘knowing how to’!
And at this point I suggest that you ‘get knowing’! Please work your way through the lessons and upon completion you will be armed with the required techniques to handle rook and pawn endgames. Then you can start out in something else!
Good luck!
By the way, that’s just single rook endings (or rook versus pawns). I haven’t said much on double rook endgames, partly because they are so rare and partly because the same principles apply, but twofold! Joking aside, the one assumption I have made for this series of tutorials is that the reader knows how to deliver checkmate with a king and rook against a bare king. With two rooks apiece the main difference is that the partnership is able to deliver checkmate without the aid of its monarch. They provide twice as much firepower and thus frequently enjoy doubling on the seventh rank and open files. Regarding the latter, that’s where more typically one pair is exchanged off, thus returning to the realms of these lessons.
There is a famous saying that ‘all rook endings are drawn’. This generalization is highly dubious, but as you work your way through the chapters you will begin to understand its basis. The fact is that, next to opposite-coloured bishop endings, your best chance for a share of the points when you are a pawn down is in a rook endgame. Indeed, that is reflected in the many examples that I use in which the defender salvages a draw thanks to active play and overall employment of the basic ideas I put forward. It’s probably true that the majority of rook endings do finish as draws but it’s one thing ‘knowing that’ and another ‘knowing how to’!
And at this point I suggest that you ‘get knowing’! Please work your way through the lessons and upon completion you will be armed with the required techniques to handle rook and pawn endgames. Then you can start out in something else!
Good luck!
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