The Rook is the second strongest piece in a chess game. It's worth five pawns. There are, however, some positions when two pawns, or on rare occasions, even one pawn, can be stronger than a Rook. This usually occurs when the pawns are advanced far into the opponent's territory and have a King nearby to support them. There are several composed studies, as well as actual games that can provide good learning material.

The first example is a composed study by Saavedra. It was composed more than a hundred years ago and has become a classic.

BLACK MOVES BUT WHITE WINS

White's pawn is about to become a Queen and Black must do something drastic to stop it. Since there is no way to control the c8-square, Black has no choice but to check his opponent's King, hoping that it will step onto the c-file. In that case the Rook rushes down to the first rank and meets c8=Q with a check from c1, thereby saving the game.

1...Rd6+

In case of 1...Rd2 2.c8=Q Rb2+, White slowly but surely approaches with the King, eventually avoiding checks, 3.Ka5 Ra2+ 4.Kb4 Rb2+ 3.Kc3 and wins.

2.Kb5!

If 2.Kb7? then 2...Rd7 and Black is safe.

2...Rd5+ 3.Kb4 Rd4+ 4.Kb3

Another possibility is 4.Kc3 Rd1 5.Kc2, leading to the same variation as in the game.

4...Rd3+ 5.Kc2

Now it looks like Black has to resign since there are no more checks. Black, however, has one more chance.

5...Rd4!

This innocent move sets up a nasty trap.

6.c8=R!!

In case of 6.c8=Q? Black has prepared 6...Rc4+! and after 7.Qxc4 it's a stalemate!

Now the threat of Rc8-a8+ forces Black's Rook to a4.

6...Ra4 7.Kb3!

A winning attack. White is attacking his opponent's Rook, but more importantly, threatens Rc8-c1, checkmate. There is no defense, therefore, Black resigns.

As we saw here, there are quite a few important details in such an ending. At times the King has to go away from a pawn in order to avoid being pinned. Also, before promoting a pawn, one should be careful of kamikaze-like sacrifices that lead to a stalemate.

Sometimes the King is unable to stop such a sacrifice, as in the following study by Bron, 1929.

WHITE TO MOVE & DRAW

The situation on the board is similar to the position in the first diagram. Since White can't control the f1-square, his only course of action is to check his opponent's King, hoping that it will step on the f-file, in which case the Rook will go to the 8th rank and will check the King from behind.

1.Rg3+ Ke4

White is safe after 1...Ke2? 2.Rg2.

2.Rg4+ Ke5 3.Rg5+ Ke6 4.Rg6+ Ke7 5.Rg7+ Kf8

We have a situation that's similar to the one in the first game. There is a difference, however – White's King is placed better than his colleague in the first game.

6.Rg5!

Now White simply threatens Rg5-f5+, so the response is forced.

6...f1=Q 7.Rf5+! Qxf5, drawn by stalemate.

Far more complex are positions where the pawn is not advanced beyond the 4th (5th) rank.

In such a situation, cooperation between a Rook and a King is crucial. The situations where one side may be in zugzwang are very frequent. It's extremely important to calculate each step carefully.

Richard Reti is well known in chess as a brilliant player and as the creator of the Reti Opening. It's less known that he was also a great chess composer. The following position is a Reti creation from 1928.

WHITE TO MOVE & WIN

It's clear that White must move his Rook to safety, but it's far more difficult to figure out where. White's King is far away from his opponent's pawn and to win he must figure out a way to get past his adversary. Two important endgame concepts work together here. They are 1) opposition and 2) zugzwang.

1.Rd2!

In case of 1.Rh4, a draw is reached fairly easy. After 1...d4 White has no way to move his King closer without allowing his opponent to advance forward as well. If 2.Rh5+, then 2...Ke4 3.Kd6 d3 4.Kc5 d2 and here both 5.Rd5 Ke3 6.Kc4 Ke2 and 5.Rh1 Kd3! 6.Kb4 Kc2 lead to a draw. Similar developments take place after 1.Ra4 d4 2.Ra5+ Ke4 3.Kd6 d3 4.Kc5 d2 5.Ra1 Kd3 6.Kb4 Ke2 7.Ra2 Ke1 and a draw is reached again.

More difficult for Black is 1.Rd1? but he can draw after 1...d4 2.Kd7 Kd5! 3.Kc7 Kc5! not allowing White's King to get closer to the pawn. Now 4.Rd2 Kc4 5.Kd6 Kc3! wins an important tempo for Black, and after 6.Rh2 d3 7.Ke5 d2 the game is drawn again.

Back to the situation after 3...Kc5: here 4.Rc1+ is met by 4...Kb4! getting closer to the Rook. Here both 5.Kd6 d3 6.Kd5 d2 7.Rh1 Kc3 8.Ke4 Kc2 and 7.Ra1 Kc3 8.Ke4 Kb2 9.Rh1 Kc2 are safe for Black.

1...d4 2.Rd1!

A wonderful move. Since Black's King holds the opposition, White can't make any progress with his King. He must wait for his opponent's King to make a move, surrendering some space. In case of the immediate 2.Kd7?, Black reaches a safe position with 2...Ke4 3.Kd6 Ke3 4.Ra2 d3 5.Kd5 d2. White's move not only forces his opponent to surrender the opposition, it also moves the Rook away from his opponent's King.

2...Kd5

The only chance. In case of 2...Ke4 3.Kd6 d3 4.Kc5 Ke3 5.Kc4 d2 6.Kc3, White catches the pawn and wins.

3.Kd7!!

Clearly, the most amazing move of this study. White takes the opposition and forces his opponent to give him some space. In case of 3.Kf6?, Black plays 3...Ke4! (not 3...Kc4? 4.Ke5 d3 5.Ke4 and White wins) and White can't come closer with his King. After 4.Re1+ Kf4! (If 4...Kf3 5.Ke5 d3 6.Kd4 d2 7.Rh1! Ke2 8.Rh2+ Ke1 9.Ke3! White forces his opponent to promote the pawn to a Knight, since 9...d1=Q? loses 10.Rh1mate. After 9...d1=N+ 10.Kf3 White will torture his opponent for many more moves, although the game should still be drawn with an accurate defense. After 4...Kf4! 5.Rd1 (5.Rf1+ Ke3 6.Ke5 d3) 5…Ke3 6.Ke5 d3 Black will draw.

3...Ke4

The same fate awaits Black after 3...Kc4 4.Kd6 d3 5.Ke5 Kc3 6.Ke4 d2 7.Ke3 and wins.

4.Kd6 d3 5.Kc5 Ke3 6.Kc4 d2 7.Kc3, 1-0.