While Rook endings happen fairly often in a chess game, double Rook endings are rather rare. There is not much coverage of such endings in chess books. Nevertheless, double Rook endings are an important part of endgame theory. Double Rook endings are also closely tied to single Rook endings, since in many cases a pair of Rooks can be exchanged.
In double Rook endings, activity is very important. A player should try to place his Rooks on the seventh (second) rank to attack his opponent’s pawns. Rooks coordinate particularly well when they are on the same rank or file. Since two Rooks can do a lot of damage together, King safety is an important issue. This, however, does not mean that King should always hide behind pawns, but one needs to be more careful than in single Rook endings. Just as in any ending, it’s important to avoid unnecessary pawn moves and avoid making pawn weaknesses.
In the following ending, played by Capablanca, Black took advantage of his opponent’s weak queenside pawns by creating a distraction (second weakness) on the kingside.
Unknown-Capablanca
BLACK TO MOVE
Black is clearly ahead here, since his opponent’s Rooks are passive and the a- and the c-pawns are weak. The straight attack on those pawns, however, can be rebuffed fairly easily. For instance, 1...Ra4 2.Ra1 Rda5 3.Rca2 and while White’s Rooks are still passive, there seems to be no obvious way to make progress. What should Black do?
In such a situation the stronger side should employ the technique known as “the creation of a second weakness.” Black is unable to win in the current situation because the opponent’s Rooks are located near his weak pawns and can easily support either one. If there was a weak pawn on the kingside, however, it would make the defense much more difficult, as White’s pieces would be torn between the two sides of the board. The only reasonable way of counterplay for White here is to wait for a good moment to activate his Rooks, by possibly pushing his c-pawn forward, sacrificing the a-pawn, but exchanging the c-pawn for opponent’s b-pawn and seeking refuge in the “four versus three” ending with all the pawns on one side of the board.
At first, Capa (as Capablanca was called by his friends and admirers) regroups his pieces.
1...Re4+ 2.Re2?
It’s difficult to believe, but this move makes White’s chances for a successful defense very problematic. While 2.Kf1! seems passive, it deserved attention here. For instance, 2.Kf1 Ra4 (as in the game) 3.c4 Rd3 (3...Rc5 4.Rc3) 4.c5 bxc5 5.Rxc5 Raxa3 6.g3, intending Ke1-f1-g2, hoping to activate the Rooks on the seventh rank, or perhaps exchange a pair of Rooks, while putting a second Rook behind the a-pawn.
2...Ra4 3.Ra2
Here 3.c4 is not so good, since after 3...Rc5 White loses either his c-pawn or a-pawn, but fails to exchange his c-pawn for the opponent’s b-pawn.
3...h5
Black targets the g-pawn. He wants to play ...h5-h4 and after that, attack it with his Rook, ...Rg5. This would provoke f2-f3, thus making the g2-pawn vulnerable. Also, Black’s King can later sneak through g5-f4 to g3, adding to the existing pressure.
4.Rd1
Once again, 4.c4 Rc5 leads to a loss of a second pawn, but fails to exchange the c-pawn.
4...Rda5 5.Rda1 h4
We can see that White pieces are paralyzed here.
6.Kd2?!
A mistake. While the situation is clearly unpleasant for White, before this move he had some chance to save the game. Better was 6.Kf1! staying by the g-pawn and waiting for the opportunity to activate one of the Rooks. The text move plays right into Capa’s plans.
6...Kh7 7.Kc2?
White’s desire to free one of his Rooks can be understood, of course. But now the White pawns are left without protection and Black switches his Rooks to the kingside. The only move was 6.Ke1! , going back to f1. While Black is better there, the game is far from over.
7...Rg5! 8.Rg1
Better was 8.Kb3 Ra5 9.f3, saving the pawn. Now Black wins a pawn and the game.
8...Rf4!
A classical example of “two weaknesses.” White does not have enough time to get back to the defense of his kingside pawns.
9.Kd3 Rf3+!, 0-1.
A final “little combination a la Capablanca.” Now 10.gxf3 Rxg1, followed by ...Rg1-h1xh3 is lost for White.
Kayumov-Korzubov, Grodno 1984
BLACK TO MOVE
White has his King in the middle of the board, but surely, he would rather avoid such “activity.” Since Black has the d- and c-files under control, white’s King is clearly in danger. The e5-pawn is also obviously weak. Black’s winning plan is basically simple. White can’t really stop, or effectively defend against the doubling of his opponent’s Rooks along the fifth rank.
White’s only counterplay is in chasing his opponent’s King on the seventh and eighth rank. Therefore, Black must stop his opponent’s counterplay and then proceed with the attack against the e5-pawn.
32...Rd5+
An important check, it separates the e5-pawn from the e2-Rook.
33.Ke4 Rc7!
This “mysterious” Rook move is in reality very simple. In case of 33...Rcc5, White plays 34.Ra7+ Ke8 35.Ra8+ and Black’s King cannot escape the checks.
34.Kf4 h6!
This move creates a serious threat, 34...g5+, which will provide Black’s King with the escaping square g7.
35.h4
White stops ...g7-g5+, but his position remains very difficult. In case of 35.Re4 Black could continue with 35...g5+ 36.Kg4 Rc2 and now 37.Ra4 is met by 37...Rxe5 38.R4xa5 f5+ 39.Kf3 (39.Kh5 Rxh2+ 40.Kg6 Rxa5 41.Rxa5 f4 42.gxf4 gxf4 43.Ra7+ Kd6 and Black has good winning chances) 39...Re4! threatening checkmate.
35...g6!
This important move provides an important escape square for Black’s King. Now Black can move his c-Rook forward to f1, and attack the opponent’s King from f1, forcing it further away from the e5-pawn. White decides to go all out for a counterplay, but it only loses the game faster.
36.Re4
36...Rc2
This obvious move attacks the a2-pawn, but besides that, Black threatens 37...Rf2+ forcing the King away from the e5-pawn, followed by 38...Rf5, winning e5. White takes the f5-square under control, but loses the a-pawn.
37.Ra7+ Kf8 38.g4 Rxa2 39.Rc4
Since passive defense promises very little, White places his hopes on an attack, hoping to corner his opponent’s King on the eighth rank.
39...Rb5!
A very strong move. When the white Rook leaves the fourth rank, ...Rb5-b4+ will win the b3-pawn with check after the King moves back to the third rank.
40.Rc8+ Kg7 41.Rc3
In case of 41.Raa8, the following variation is possible: 41...Rb4+ 42.Ke3 Rxb3+ 43.Kd4 Ra4+ 44.Kc5 Rc3+ and after the exchange of a pair of Rooks Black wins. The text move does not change much either.
41...Ra3 42.Rf3 Rbxb3 43.Rxb3 Rxb3 44.Rxa5
White won a pawn back, but his pawns remain weak. In fact, he immediately loses one of them.
44...Rh3 45.Ra1!?
One final attempt to save the game. Here 45...Rxh4?! 46.Kg3 g5 runs into 47.Rf1! when an interesting position arises where Black’s Rook is somewhat trapped. Black should still win with …h6-h5 and …Rh4-e4 at some point, but it may be a bit difficult.
Black avoids that and wins at once.
45…h5!, 0-1. Since 46.gxh5 Rxh4+ 47.Kf3 Rxh5 leads to the position with two extra pawns for Black, or 46.Kg5 Rg3 47.Ra4 Rxg4+ 48.Rxg4 hxg4 49.Kxg4 Kh6 50.Kg3 Kh5, followed by ...g6-g5 and the pawn ending is lost for White.
Levenfish-Rubinstein, Vienna, 1912
BLACK TO MOVE
In the following game the famous master of Rook endings, Akiba Rubinstein, was facing another well-known authority, Gregory Levenfish (author of the book on Rook endings together with Vassily Smyslov). While Rubinstein was approaching his prime, his opponent was still very young.
Black has good winning chances here due to the fact that White’s b2-pawn is very weak. Black’s King has a straight way to b3, where it would attack the weak pawn. Another important detail here is the unsafe position of White’s King, which is very close to the corner of the board. Rubinstein combines the march of his King to a weak pawn with an attack against White’s King.
35...Kd5
Not a terribly complex move, the King is just going straight to the weak pawn.
36.Rhd1+ Kc5
After 36...Kc4 37.Rd4+ Kb3 38.Rb4+ Kc2 39.Rg1 c5 40.Rg2+ Kb1 41.Re4, Rubinstein probably did not like the fact that his King may get in trouble. His choice is clearly safer, since White can’t really defend c4-square for a long time.
37.Rd2
In case of 37.Rd4, Black plays 37...Rh2 38.Rb1 Rf8+ 39.Ke3 Rff2 with winning chances.
37...Rhf8+ 38.Kg3
White has a lost ending after 38.Ke3 Rbe8+ 39.Kd3 Rd8+ 40.Kc2 Rxd2+ 41.Kxd2 Rf2+ 42.Kd3 (42.Kc1?? Rf1+ wins a Rook) 42...Rxb2, since his Rook is tied to a3-pawn, while the King has to be on d3 to protect c4-square – classical zugzwang.
38...Rb7!
The King is very close to the corner of the board and Black threatens checkmate in two!
39.Kh2
In case of 39.Rd4 Rg7+ 40.Rg4 Rxg4+ 41.Kxg4 Rf2 42.Rb1 Kc4 Black wins also.
39...Rh7+ 40.Kg1 Rg7+
41.Rg2 Rxg2+ 42.Kxg2
White managed to stop his opponent’s Rook from penetrating the second rank, but not for long.
42...Rd8 43.Kf3
In case of 43.Rf1 Rd2+ 44.Rf2 Rxf2+ 45.Kxf2 Kc4 46.Ke2 Kb3, Black wins the pawn ending.
43...Rd2 44.Ra2
If 44.Rb1 then 44…Kc4.
44...Rd1
Black has more than one way to win, but the text is very elegant. White’s Rook is a prisoner on a2!
45.Ke2 Rh1
46.Kd3
It looks like White is safe?! No!
46...Rg1
This simple waiting move underscores White’s complete helplessness. Now 47.Kd2 Kc4 48.Kc2 Rg2+ and ...Kc4-b3 is winning for Black.
47.c4 Rg3+, 0-1. After 48.Kc2 Kxc4, White can’t stop ...Rg3-g2+ and ...Kc4-b3.
