The Winning Academy 37: Rooks in Paradise

by Jan Markos
10/8/2024 – Every chess piece has a favourite region of the board. Knights like to be in the centre, kings rely on the safety of the corners. However, no piece loves a specific diagonal, file or rank as much as rooks do. Rooks love the 7th rank. On this rank, they feel like a kid in a candy shop. There are so many pawns to consume! Also, sometimes the opponent’s pieces are vulnerable as well. But why is the seventh rank so attractive for rooks? Jan Markos has some answers and examples! | Diagram: Final position of the game Vidit Gujrathi vs Wei Yi, Global Chess League 2024
Let us explore together how the rooks should enter the game in the early middlegame, how they operate on open files and how they sometimes join a deadly attack, being transferred in front of the pawn chain and many more topics!

Well, the reason is closely linked to the character and placement of the pawns. Pawns can never protect anything on the first two ranks, as they are placed on the second (or seventh) rank at the beginning, and they only march forward.

However, some rules do apply:

Firstly, the longer the 7th rank is for the rook, the better. If a rook only has one or two squares available on the 7th, its activity might be quite limited.

Secondly, a rook on the 7th is usually in the middle of the opponent’s army. Therefore, it usually needs some support. If it has no support (as in the last example of this article), it might be suffering more than expected.

At any case, 7th rank is usually something like a paradise for the rooks. And they want to get there at almost any cost and stay there as long as possible!

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Sometimes, you need to take original routes to get your rook to the paradise. Mariya Muzychuk was up to the task in the following example.

M. Muzychuk - A. Goryachkina, Women Candidates 2019, White to move:

White is a pawn down. Moreover, Black’s pawn structure is more compact. However, not pawns, but pieces are the soul of the modern chess. Muzychuk is much better developed. But how should she convert her development advantage?

Well, the best way is to buy the e1-rook a one-way ticket to the paradise!

18.Re3!

The rook is aiming to c7 and there is little Black can do against it, as she has very little forces on the queenside.

18…Ne7

A logical try is 18...Rc8 19.Ra3 Rc7, but after 20.Bf1 followed by 21.Nb5 Black’s queenside pawns are falling.

19.Rc3 h5 20.Rc7

With a rook on the seventh rank, Muzychuk dominates the board. Later in the game, she added another rook to the bind on the 7th rank and won convincingly.

Here's the complete game:

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Sometimes, you need vision and courage to foresee that your rook will shine on the 7th rank.

Caruana-Giri, Gashimov memorial 2015, White to move:

In this symmetrical position, many players would automatically play 19.cxb6. However, after 19…Qxb6 the game evaporates into a complete equality.

Caruana had something else in mind. He understood that with his rook on the 7th rank, Black’s minor pieces will be a target, as they can not be protected by their own pawn.

Therefore, he played 19.Ra7!.

Now Black has several possible ways to defend, but none of them is sufficient. Giri chose 19…Bxf3 20.Bxf3 Nxc5, but after 21.Qb1 his pieces remain under an unpleasant attack. (Of course, 21.Rxd8? Nxb3 would favor Black. Without his vulnerable queen, his defence would be much easier.)

21...Ncd7 22.Nb5 +-

Black is completely tied down. Material losses are inevitable. However, Caruana did not choose the best continuation later and the game ended in a draw.

Here's the complete game:

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Who would like to leave the paradise? However, sometimes you need to show a lot of skill to keep your rook on the 7th rank.

Vidit-Wang, Danzhou 2019, White to move:

White’s 7th rank is of the most precious sort. Some authors call it the "absolute 7th rank". The white rook controls all the squares on this rank, and the black monarch can not escape. Is this not a paradasie?

Well, not exactly. Black is prepared to do everything to expel the white rook, or exchange it. White needs to be smart to keep it in the paradise. Vidit solved the problem with a nice pendulum maneuver.

33.Ra7!

The other retreat 33.Rb7 Qc6 34.Ra7 Qc1+ allows Black to exchange the queens and get a lot of counterplay against White’s b-pawn.

Now after 33...Ra8 34.Rb7 Qc6 White’s rook would return to the initial square: 35.Rc7. The gained tempo would allow White to keep the rook on the 7th rank.

Instead of all this, Wang tried to chase White’s rook with the queen:

33...Qc6 34.Bf4 Qb6

However, now White does not need to retreat with the rook, as …Qb6xa7 is refuted by the fork on e6. Therefore, White played simply 35.Qe5! and won smoothly.

Here's the complete game:

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The "longer" the 7th rank is, the more difficult it is for a defender to expel it. However, Anatoly Karpov was up to the task in the following example.

Karpov-Polgar, Linares 2001, White to move:

White is a pawn up. Also, Black’s minor pieces, especially the g6-bishop, are not very active. However, Polgar’s rook is a beast. Controlling the almost entire 7th (or 2nd, if you wish) rank, it seems to be the boss on the board.

Yet Karpov nicely shows that the rook lacks sufficient support. The game continued:

24.Kc1!

His majesty comes to the queenside to rob the rook off the squares a2 and b2.

24…Ne5

Black’s try to switch to the 8th (1st) rank would be unsuccessful either. After 24…Ra1+ 25.Kb2 Re1 26.Nf2! Black is hopeless against Nf2-d3 in combination with Nb5-c3.

25.Kb1 Rd2 26.Kc1 Ra2 27.Kb1 Ra2

Karpov is in no hurry. However, now he finally expels the rook.

28.Nc3 f5 29.Kb1 Rd8

Mission accomplished. White is winning.

Here's the complete game:

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Playing with the minor pieces is relatively simple. They are not so mobile, and therefore it is easier to guess where they belong. Playing with major pieces is usually a more difficult task. However, one think is clear: The rooks love the 7th rank, and placing them there, you would only seldom commit a mistake.

In this video course, kings will play a role of strong and active pieces. We will explore how Kings can be helpful in defence and prophylaxis, or even in attack!

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Jan Markos is a Slovakian chess author, trainer, and grandmaster. His book Under the Surface was the English Chess Federation´s 2018 Book of the Year. His last book, The Secret Ingredient, co-authored with David Navara, focuses on the practical aspects of play, e.g. time-management over the board, how to prepare against a specific opponent, or how to use chess engines during the training process. Markos was the U16 European Champion twenty years ago. At present he helps his pupils from several countries to achieve similar successes. Apart from focusing on the royal game, he is also the author of several non-chess books, focused on critical thinking, moral dilemmas, and phenomenology.