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Do or Die with Rook Endings

Don't blow a winning rook ending again!

Rook endings are the most common in all of chess. Therefore you need to know the basic positions and some strategic principles when the play becomes more difficult. I want to have you learn and practice the former, and give you a feel for the latter. Start improving your rook and pawn endgame play today!

Here is what you will learn:

Learn the essential rook endings that all experienced chess players should know!
Learn how to convert extra material into a win!
Learn how to best activate your rooks!

The Basic Position with Black's King on the Last Rank

We'll start out with the most fundamental rook-and-pawn endings that involve rook-and-pawn versus rook.

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Philidor Position

The Philidor Position is the most basic of all defensive postures in rook-and-pawn endings, and the easiest to remember.

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The Short Side

There's one more basic technique to know for the defender: checking from a distance. This relates to the concept of the king escaping to the 'short side.'

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Practice Makes Perfect!

Let's practice the techniques of the previous lessons.

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The Passive Defence

You may be wondering what happens if Black just hangs around on the first rank. This is called the "passive defence", and like most passive setups in chess, it is a last resort.

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An Exceptional Case

When the extra pawn is a knight pawn, the situation is exceptional in two respects. This lesson illustrates the first one.

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The Knight Pawn Exception, Part 2

We just saw that the normal rook move behind the pawn doesn't work when White has a passed pawn. How else can Black try to draw?

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Lucena's All-Important Position

Very often the stronger side can cut the king of the weaker side off by one or more files. In the example in this lesson, White wins by a concrete method that MUST be memorized.

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Practice with the Lucena Position

Let's get a little practice with the Lucena Position method that you learned in the last lesson.

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Defense From A Distance

If the stars are aligned and White's pawn hasn't advanced very far, then you can sometimes still draw even if your king is cut off by a file.

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Where do Rooks Go?

Now we move to a situation of rook-versus-pawn. This doesn't happen as often as rook-and-pawn versus rook, but it's important to know when you're winning.

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Another Way to Stop a Pawn

Sometimes you can't get behind the pawn in time, but there's another way.

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Escorting a Pawn to the Ball

When you want to queen your pawn, sometimes you have to be rude to the other pieces!

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Practice the Shoulder Technique

Let's get some practice with the shoulder technique we just learned. This one's pretty tricky!

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Another Shoulder Problem

Here's another look at the shouldering idea. The solution looks a little different this time.

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Extra Pawns

Let's put another pawn on the board and see how that changes things. Shouldering and opposition will be important here, too.

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Rook vs Connected Passed Pawns

Now let's look at the rook versus connected passed pawns. They are easy to get used to, with a couple of simple things to remember.

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Connected Pawns Continued

More connected pawns, and the 6th rank rule is still the most important. But it's not easy by a long shot.

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A Little Calculation Never Hurt

Here's another connected pawns example. This time it's with a knight pawn and rook pawn, which changes a few things.

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A Study by Reti

We finish with a study by the great Richard Reti. It illustrates several basic endgame techniques.

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Do or Die with Rook Endings

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