How to approach rook endgames as a beginner

Question

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?

Answer 1

I can not tell you exactly how to get better at rook endgames. Probably by looking at a lot of rook endgames. I remember that I read

• some endgame books by Averbakh
• books by Jusupov and Dvoretzky
• "Rook Endings" by Smyslov and Levenfish
• "Practical Rook Endings" by Korchnoi
• "Chess Endgame Training" by Rosen
• a few chapters in "Endgame Strategy" by Shereshevsky.

I did not read any of those books fully, and not in a structured manner. If you too read a few chapters in these books, you may make the same progress as I did, or these books may not be for you and you may not. No guarantees :)

However, I can teach you, how to understand why one move wins/loses/draws, and not another, when table base info or engine support is available.

Consider the third position you posted:

[Title ""]
[Fen "8/8/8/8/8/p7/k1K5/2R5 w - - 0 1"]

Set up that position on Lichess and then create an analysis board from it. Activate the tablebases (book symbol bottom right of the board).

Duplicate the browser window and place the windows side by side. You now have the same position with tablebase info in two windows. (Instead of using two windows, You can also use the Shredderchess endgame database, which allows free moving, so you can just change the position of the white king, to compare)

Enter 1.Kd2 (wins) in the left window and 1.Kd3 (draws) in the right window. Check what the tablebase say.

In the right window it says that now only 1...Kb2 draws. You want to figure out why it draws here but not in the other position, so execute 1...Kb2 in both windows.

Now in the left window it says that only 2.Rc2+ wins, but not in the other window. So execute 2.Rc2+ in both windows.

Right it says, only 2...Kb3 draws, so execute that in both windows.

Left it says that 3.Rc6, 3.Rc7, 3.Rc8 are the fastest winning moves, let's choose the longest move, 3.Rc8 and execute it in both.

Right: only 3...Kb2 draws, so execute it in both.

Left: 4.Rb8+ wins fastest, execute it in both.

And now you can see that in the right window black has 4...Kc1, the only drawing move. In the left window black can just go to a1 or a2.

Aha! The king on d2 prevents Kc1.

Further interesting questions are:

• Why does right 4...Kc1 draw?
• Why does left 4...Ka1 or 4...Ka2 lose?
• Why does right 1...Kb2 draw but not 1...Kb3?
• Why does left only 2.Rc2+ win and not immediately 2.Rc8?
• Why does right only 2...Kb3 draw and not 2...Kb1?
• Why does right only 3...Kb2 draw and not 3...a2?
• ...

Answer each of these questions (and maybe further questions) by duplicating the window again, comparing the moves, like we just did. Whenever you ask yourself "why does this move win/lose/draw but not the other move", or "why does this move win/lose faster than the other move" duplicate the window, make both moves and compare.

This either leads to the conclusion that chess is not for you (or that you need a better way to organize your browser windows), or to you understanding the position.

You can understand any chess position using this method, not just endgame positions, but also opening or middle game positions, chess studies, whatever, by using the engine evaluation or the table base info, if available.

Later, when you are better, try not to duplicate the windows, but play through one line, and find the difference to the other line in your head.

Answer 2

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 3

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!