Concepts · Endgames

Rook Endgame

The commonest endgame and the most technical: activity, the king, and the passed pawn decide it, and a pawn up is often not enough. Most rook endings are won or lost by the rook’s position, not the count.

Key ideas

The active rook is worth a pawn
The rook belongs behind the passed pawn
Cut the king off along a file or a rank

Watch

Games that teach rook endgame

1 game

UnclassifiedD0216:10

How Kamsky Beat Dlugy with the Queen's Pawn Opening | Endgame, Strategy & Piece Activity

Kamsky, Gata vs Dlugy, Maxim

Endgame, Strategy & Piece Activity: what Kamsky vs Dlugy (Queen's Pawn Opening) teaches. The principles that decide rook endgames: rook activity, the rook behind the passed pawn, and cutting the king off.

Open File
Creating Weaknesses
Rook Activity
Active King

New York exh1 Jan 19891-0