Rook Endings

The most important factor in any rook endings is the activity of your pieces. If you manage to put your rook on 7th rank then it may be worth of one or even two pawns.
Following endings is a fragment of the game from New York tournament 1924. Former world champion José Raúl Capablanca demonstrated a brilliant technique. His opponent, Dr Tartakower was two pawns ahead and despite such a material advantage he failed to defend his position. This is one of the most instructive rook and pawn endings ever played.

Endings such as King and Pawn against the King and Rook can happen quite so often. They arise after one site is forced to sacrifice Rook for queening passed pawn. So to study such endings is useful and sensible.

In the following diagram I would like to present one of very classical endings - King and Pawn versus King and Rook - and this is the study of Barbier and Saavedra published in Glasgow Weekly Citizen in 1895. You can follow a typical King manoeuvre, stalemate motif as well as double attack motif which finally decides the game.




More theory about King & Rook vers King & Pawn Endings you can find on the following link.

Kopaev, 1954

White is to move and wins.

1.Rf7+! 
Intermediate check is again the key! Wrong is naturally looking 1.Rg7? g4 2.Kf7 g3 with draw. 
1...Kg3 
If 1...Ke3 the after 2.Rg7 Kf4 3.Kf7 g4 White will play 4.Kg6! This is the trick. King finds the path through h-file. 4...g3 5.Kh5 Kf3 6.Kh4 g2 7.Kh3 Kf2 8.Kh2 and wins. 
2.Ke7 g4 3.Ke6! 
3.Kf6? would be a mistake because of Kf4! 4.Kg6+ Ke3! and draw.
3...Kh2 4.Kf5 g3 5.Kg4 g2 6.Rh7+ 
[6.Rf2? Kh1!=] 
6...Kg1 7.Kg3 Kf1 8.Rf7+ Kg1 9.Rf8! [9.Rf2 Kh1=] 9...Kh1 10.Rh8+ Kg1 11.Rh2 Kf1 12.Rxg2+- 1-0

Prokop F.J., 
České Slovo 1923

1.Qd6!

[1.Qe7+? Rg7 2.Qe4+ Kh8 3.Qe5=;
1.Qd3+? Kh8! 2.Qd7 Ra8=] 

1...Rge8! 

[1...Rg7 2.Qh6+ Kg8 3.Qe6+ Kf8 4.Qxc8++-;
1...Rgd8 2.Qg6+ Kh8 3.Kh6 Rd7 4.Qf6+ Kg8 5.Qe6++-;
1...Rgf8 2.Qd7+ Kh8 3.Kg6!+-] 

2.Qd7+ Kh8 3.Kg6! Rc6+ 4.Kf7! 

[4.Qxc6 Re6+!! 5.Qxe6 Stalemate!] 

4...Ree6! 5.Qd8+ Kh7 6.Qg8+ Kh6 7.Qg7+ Kh5 8.Qg4+ Kh6 9.Qh4# 



Prokop F.J. 
28. Říjen, 1924
1.Rc1+ Kd4! 

[1...Kb4 2.b7! (2.Rc6 Ka5 3.g4+-) 2...Rb6 3.Rc2! Ka3+! 4.Ka1 Rxb7 5.Ra2+ Kb3 6.Rb2++-]

2.Rc6! Kd5! 3.b7!! Kxc6 4.b8N+ Kb7 

[4...Kd5 5.Nxa6 Ke4 6.Nc7 (6.Nc5+ Kf5 7.Kc2) ]

5.Nxa6 Kxa6 6.g4 e5 7.Kc2 Kb6 8.g5 Kc5 9.g6           1-0



Dederle František
Časopis Československých Šachistů
1917

1.Rh7+ Kg5 2.g7 Ra8+ 

 [2...Kg6 3.Kh8]  

3.Kf7 Ra7+ 4.Ke6 Ra6+ 5.Kd5! 


[5.Ke5? Rg6]

5...Rg6 6.Ke5! Kg4 7.Rh1 Kf3 8.Rf1+ Ke3 9.Rf7 Kd3 10.Kf5 Rg1 11.Kf6 Rf1+ 12.Ke7 Rg1 13.Kf8 and White wins. 1-0