Answers.Body: <blockquote>
  <p>It is often said that at my level I should focus on other things</p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>First off: (mastering) endgames is <em>the</em> skill you focus on at that level. I don't know who says you should focus on &quot;other things&quot;, but the endgame is the stage of the game where you learn to use the various pieces and how they work together in the clearest form. Studying endgames (rook endgames are the most common ones) is helping you not only in endgames but in every situation where you have to utilize a certain piece and understand the peculiarities of its maneuvering.</p>
  <p>A few pointers for rook endgames:</p>
  <ul>
  <li><p>Start with the basic positions: Lucena, Philidor and Vancura<br />
  Quite often the calculation of real endgames boils down to such basic endgames and if you know well these basic types you can speed up your calculation tremenduously.</p>
  </li>
  <li><p>Rook endgames are essentially a fight for the initiative.   Strive to position your rook as active as possible and avoid putting a rook where it cannot change its position quickly. In many cases even losing a pawn is better than to have an statically positioned piece.</p>
  </li>
  <li><p>Hone your calculation skills.<br />
  Especially rook endgames can typically be calculated very far ahead and you need good calculation skills to do so. On the other hand, exerting this skill also develops the &quot;calculation muscle&quot; in your brain and your overall game will benefit from that far beyond the realm of endgames.</p>
  </li>
  <li><p>Rooks belong behind free pawns.<br />
  This insight from Siegbert Tarrasch is still true in most cases. Yes, there are exceptions from that rule of thumb, but they are rare. Rooks belong not only behind your own free pawns but also behind your opponents free pawns and you need a really, really good reason to put them somewhere else.</p>
  </li>
  <li><p>Study pawn endgames first.<br />
  You mention regarding one problem that &quot;Kd2 wins and Kd3 draws and you don't know why&quot;. To me it seems that you are unfamiliar with the basic pawn endgames and the techniqus necessary: opposition, triangulation, zugzwang, ... These techniques and their application apply also to rook endgames.</p>
  </li>
  </ul>
  <p>Here are a few book suggestions:</p>
  <ul>
  <li>100 Endgames You Must Know, J. de la Villa</li>
  <li>Understanding ChessEndgames, John Nunn</li>
  <li>The Chess Endgame Exercise Book, John Nunn)</li>
  <li>Understanding Rook Endgames (K. Müller, Y. Konoval)</li>
  </ul>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2024-09-03T20:42:28.580Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2024-09-03T20:42:28.580Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: bakunin
Answers.Body: <p>Well, the best way to improve your skills with rooks en endgames is practicing and playing rook endgames, I see how you did it and yeah, you missed several basic things, but don't worry, I'll recommend you play specific positions against the engine in lichess, also, in lichess there are a lot of studies about rooks in endgames.</p>
  <p>Remember rooks are powerful if they work together, you can attack and put a lot of pressure on the backrank. Be careful if you let your rooks unprotected around the board, always remember to make your rooks play together, it is the best way to take advantage of them, if you can't or if only there is a rook, so try to dominate and avoid the opponent to let get out of sides and backrank. The rooks are pretty important in trapping the opponent, mostly the king. Also be careful when you have the king's opponent trapped, because no one wants to stealmate the opponent in a winning position. Be careful and keep practicing!</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2024-08-29T17:49:12.087Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2024-08-29T17:49:12.087Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Tartakower On Fire
Body: <p>I am roughly 1400. Of the 15 OTB games I played last year, two ended up with rook endgames - that's 13%. It is often said that at my level I should focus on other things, but whenever I encounter such a rook endgame I feel very lost:</p>
  <p>The first position was</p>
  <pre><code>[fen &quot;6R1/8/5r2/2K5/1P4p1/6k1/8/8 b - - 0 52&quot;]
  </code></pre>
  <p>I was white, my opponent offered a draw and I took it.</p>
  <p>Another one was</p>
  <pre><code>[fen &quot;8/6R1/3kpp2/6p1/8/4PP2/r4K1P/8 w - - 0 36&quot;]
  </code></pre>
  <p>Here I was black, my opponent offered a draw and I took it. In these positions, both my opponents and I were absolutely clueless on how to approach these positions, how to at least try for something. We were both afraid of making mistakes and loosing in the end.</p>
  <p>This prompted me to start studying rook endgames more seriously. I've started with Lucena, Philidor, and also <a href="https://chess-endgame-trainer.web.app/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://chess-endgame-trainer.web.app/</a> , with simple things like rook vs pawn. My plan was to try and practice over and over to really understand how to play these positions by heart.</p>
  <p>However the first training position in that app for rook vs pawn is</p>
  <pre><code>[fen &quot;8/8/8/8/8/p7/k1K5/2R5 w - - 0 1&quot;]
  </code></pre>
  <p>where apparently Kd3 draws and Kd2 wins. I have no clue why and can't understand the plan/approach at all. I've also looked at Dvoretskys endgame manual for rook vs pawn, and couldn't find any theme that matches. Or I wasn't able to see the connection between the presented techniques and the position above.</p>
  <p>Long story short: I feel there is a huge gap between theoretical rook engames (i.e. rook vs pawn or rook + pawn vs rook, like Lucena and Philidor) and practical endgames like the first two ones above. I feel that it is impossible to calculate such positions, and there are so many moves where there are three options which draw/win/loose but I cannot figure out why - like Kd2 vs Kd3.</p>
  <p>So what is the best way to study rook endgames from a practical club player perspective? How to find plans or &quot;test&quot; your opponent in the first two positions above? Are there any guidlines like, i.e. in the second position: Is it better to check from the side or put the rook behind the pawns? Is it better to push the pawns and/or exchange them, or be very cautious? What is a good study plan for these things?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2024-08-28T23:50:08.903Z
Comments.Text: With engine analysis, both positions seems to be theoretical draws.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Lucenaposition
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2024-08-28T23:51:23.520Z
Comments.Text: For the first position, black's drawing method is to sacrifice the rook for the pawn, then black can use the king to help promote the pawn. White's king is far away so white cannot win rook vs pawn.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Lucenaposition
Tags: <endgame><rooks><rook-endgame>
Title: How to approach rook endgames as a beginner
ThreadText: # How to approach rook endgames as a beginner
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2024-08-28)
  
  I am roughly 1400. Of the 15 OTB games I played last year, two ended up with rook endgames - that's 13%. It is often said that at my level I should focus on other things, but whenever I encounter such a rook endgame I feel very lost:
  
  The first position was
  
  ```
  [fen "6R1/8/5r2/2K5/1P4p1/6k1/8/8 b - - 0 52"]
  
  ```
  
  I was white, my opponent offered a draw and I took it.
  
  Another one was
  
  ```
  [fen "8/6R1/3kpp2/6p1/8/4PP2/r4K1P/8 w - - 0 36"]
  
  ```
  
  Here I was black, my opponent offered a draw and I took it. In these positions, both my opponents and I were absolutely clueless on how to approach these positions, how to at least try for something. We were both afraid of making mistakes and loosing in the end.
  
  This prompted me to start studying rook endgames more seriously. I've started with Lucena, Philidor, and also <https://chess-endgame-trainer.web.app/> , with simple things like rook vs pawn. My plan was to try and practice over and over to really understand how to play these positions by heart.
  
  However the first training position in that app for rook vs pawn is
  
  ```
  [fen "8/8/8/8/8/p7/k1K5/2R5 w - - 0 1"]
  
  ```
  
  where apparently Kd3 draws and Kd2 wins. I have no clue why and can't understand the plan/approach at all. I've also looked at Dvoretskys endgame manual for rook vs pawn, and couldn't find any theme that matches. Or I wasn't able to see the connection between the presented techniques and the position above.
  
  Long story short: I feel there is a huge gap between theoretical rook engames (i.e. rook vs pawn or rook + pawn vs rook, like Lucena and Philidor) and practical endgames like the first two ones above. I feel that it is impossible to calculate such positions, and there are so many moves where there are three options which draw/win/loose but I cannot figure out why - like Kd2 vs Kd3.
  
  So what is the best way to study rook endgames from a practical club player perspective? How to find plans or "test" your opponent in the first two positions above? Are there any guidlines like, i.e. in the second position: Is it better to check from the side or put the rook behind the pawns? Is it better to push the pawns and/or exchange them, or be very cautious? What is a good study plan for these things?
  
  **Tags:** endgame, rooks, rook-endgame
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: With engine analysis, both positions seems to be theoretical draws.  
  > **username_1**: For the first position, black's drawing method is to sacrifice the rook for the pawn, then black can use the king to help promote the pawn. White's king is far away so white cannot win rook vs pawn.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2024-09-03. Score: 1
  
  > It is often said that at my level I should focus on other things
  
  First off: (mastering) endgames is *the* skill you focus on at that level. I don't know who says you should focus on "other things", but the endgame is the stage of the game where you learn to use the various pieces and how they work together in the clearest form. Studying endgames (rook endgames are the most common ones) is helping you not only in endgames but in every situation where you have to utilize a certain piece and understand the peculiarities of its maneuvering.
  
  A few pointers for rook endgames:
  
  * Start with the basic positions: Lucena, Philidor and Vancura  
    Quite often the calculation of real endgames boils down to such basic endgames and if you know well these basic types you can speed up your calculation tremenduously.
  * Rook endgames are essentially a fight for the initiative. Strive to position your rook as active as possible and avoid putting a rook where it cannot change its position quickly. In many cases even losing a pawn is better than to have an statically positioned piece.
  * Hone your calculation skills.  
    Especially rook endgames can typically be calculated very far ahead and you need good calculation skills to do so. On the other hand, exerting this skill also develops the "calculation muscle" in your brain and your overall game will benefit from that far beyond the realm of endgames.
  * Rooks belong behind free pawns.  
    This insight from Siegbert Tarrasch is still true in most cases. Yes, there are exceptions from that rule of thumb, but they are rare. Rooks belong not only behind your own free pawns but also behind your opponents free pawns and you need a really, really good reason to put them somewhere else.
  * Study pawn endgames first.  
    You mention regarding one problem that "Kd2 wins and Kd3 draws and you don't know why". To me it seems that you are unfamiliar with the basic pawn endgames and the techniqus necessary: opposition, triangulation, zugzwang, ... These techniques and their application apply also to rook endgames.
  
  Here are a few book suggestions:
  
  * 100 Endgames You Must Know, J. de la Villa
  * Understanding ChessEndgames, John Nunn
  * The Chess Endgame Exercise Book, John Nunn)
  * Understanding Rook Endgames (K. Müller, Y. Konoval)
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2024-08-29. Score: -1
  
  Well, the best way to improve your skills with rooks en endgames is practicing and playing rook endgames, I see how you did it and yeah, you missed several basic things, but don't worry, I'll recommend you play specific positions against the engine in lichess, also, in lichess there are a lot of studies about rooks in endgames.
  
  Remember rooks are powerful if they work together, you can attack and put a lot of pressure on the backrank. Be careful if you let your rooks unprotected around the board, always remember to make your rooks play together, it is the best way to take advantage of them, if you can't or if only there is a rook, so try to dominate and avoid the opponent to let get out of sides and backrank. The rooks are pretty important in trapping the opponent, mostly the king. Also be careful when you have the king's opponent trapped, because no one wants to stealmate the opponent in a winning position. Be careful and keep practicing!
  
  
  ---
  
  