Rook

The rook is one of the strongest pieces on the chessboard. It is weaker than the queen, but stronger than the knight and bishop. Its value is estimated at five pawns. Like the queen, the rook can easily move from one side of the board to the other, but it is often called a clumsy piece. This becomes especially noticeable when there is little space on the board, which is why the rook is most effective in the endgame.

How does the rook move?

Regardless of the rook’s position, it always attacks the same number of squares — 14! Whether you place it on the edge of the board or in the center, 14 possible squares will be available to it. The rook moves only vertically and horizontally (Diagram №1).

The rook also has the ability to make a unique move by changing places with the king. This move is called castling.

How does the rook capture pieces?

The rook, like any other chess piece, can capture any opponent’s piece except the king. Against the king, it can only give check or checkmate. Capturing other opponent’s pieces is done by removing the captured piece from the board and placing the rook on its square. Diagram №2 shows a white rook that can capture one of four black pieces (at the player’s choice).

How does the rook pin pieces?

The rook can pin opponent’s pieces vertically and horizontally. Consider the position in Diagram №3. The white rook attacks the black knight by moving to e1. The black king is too far away from its knight, so it cannot protect it. The knight cannot escape either, because the king is behind it, and a king cannot move into an attacked square. Therefore, Black has no other choice but to move the king, and on the next move White will capture the knight.

Look at Diagrams №4 and №5. In Diagram №4, the black bishop and king are standing on the same horizontal line. The white rook can move to e5 and attack both opponent’s pieces at the same time, giving check to the king and attacking the bishop. The only way to escape the check is for the black king to leave the fifth rank, meaning that White will capture the bishop on a5 on the next move.

In Diagram №5, the rook is already pinning the queen vertically. Since the queen also moves vertically, it can capture the rook on e2 with check against the white king. However, the white king can capture the queen in return, resulting in a draw. In this situation, exchanging the rook for the queen is beneficial for White because the queen is much stronger.

Take a look at Diagram №6 as well. The white king seems to be blocking the rook’s attack on the black king. The best move for White is moving the king to f3. This way, the white king opens the path for its rook, which attacks the black king, while at the same time attacking the opponent’s rook. This tactic is called a discovered check. Black is forced to move the king away from the e-file and therefore loses the rook on g2.

Where does the rook stand at the beginning of the game?

In the starting position, rooks are always placed in the corners of the chessboard. White rooks are on squares a1 and h1, while black rooks are on a8 and h8.

To bring the rook into active play, it is necessary to first move the minor pieces and pawns. Usually, rooks begin to participate actively in the game during the middlegame and after castling. This piece is extremely dangerous for the opponent’s king, and rook checkmates are a very common situation in real tournament games.