Rook Behind the PawnThe single most useful rule in rook endings.ChessRooks belong behind passed pawns — your own andyour opponent's.Tarrasch's ruleYour passed pawnRook behind itIts scope grows as the pawn advances.Their passed pawnRook behind itYour rook's scope shrinks as the pawn advances — which is what restrains it.Rook in frontPassive and usually losingThe rook has no moves and no future.THE COMMON MISTAKE✗ Blockading a passed pawn with the rook in front✓ Behind it, or use the king to blockadeA rook in front of a pawn is entirely passive; a rook behind it keeps its full range.The rare exception is when the rook in front also defends a criticalsquare, but the rule holds almost always.Rook Behind the Pawnlearnposters.com
Rook Behind the Pawn — printable games wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

What’s on the Rook Behind the Pawn poster

The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes.

The rare exception is when the rook in front also defends a critical square, but the rule holds almost always.

Questions about the Rook Behind the Pawn poster

What’s on the Rook Behind the Pawn poster?
The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes. Rooks belong behind passed pawns — your own and your opponent's.; Tarrasch's rule; Your passed pawn = Rook behind it; Their passed pawn = Rook behind it; Rook in front = Passive and usually losing; Common mistake: Blockading a passed pawn with the rook in front → Behind it, or use t…. The rare exception is when the rook in front also defends a critical square, but the rule holds almost always.
Who is the Rook Behind the Pawn poster for?
Rook Behind the Pawn belongs to the Chess section rather than to a school year, because games is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning endgames can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Rook Behind the Pawn poster?
Behind your own passer to push it. Behind theirs to stop it. Always behind. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Rook Behind the Pawn belongs on the wall where that games work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Rook Behind the Pawn?
Endgame Principles, Basic Checkmates and Bishop Endgames sit alongside Rook Behind the Pawn in the Chess section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Endgame PrinciplesBasic CheckmatesBishop Endgames
Is the Rook Behind the Pawn poster free to download and print?
Yes. Rook Behind the Pawn downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Chess section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Rook Behind the Pawn poster print at?
Rook Behind the Pawn is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Rook Behind the Pawn loses nothing.Printing guide

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