TheTarrasch rule is a general principle that applies in the majority ofchessmiddlegames andendgames.Siegbert Tarrasch (1862–1934) stated the "rule" thatrooks should be placed behindpassed pawns – either the player's or the opponent's. The idea behind the guideline is that (1) if a player's rook is behind their own passed pawn, the rook protects it as it advances, and (2) if it is behind an opponent's passed pawn, the pawn cannot advance unless it is protected along its way.
The rooks belongbehind passed pawns, behind their own in order to support their advance, behind the enemy's in order to impede their advance.[1]
He referred to his rule 24 years later on page 57 of his bookThe Game of Chess (1938) as:
In complicated Rook endings the most important rule is one laid down by the author: The Rook's place is behind the passed pawn; behind the enemy pawn in order to hold it up, behind one's own in order to support its advance.[2]
This "rule" is usually true, but not always, as there are many exceptions. Tarrasch has been quoted as saying, "Always put the rook behind the pawn... Except when it is incorrect to do so."[3]
The diagram shows two cases. On the b-file, White's rook is behind the pawn, while Black's is in front of it. Other things being equal, Black cannot do much to stop the pawn's advance. The rook can block it, but as soon as the rook moves elsewhere, the pawn can advance. In addition, as the pawn advances, the space the rook can move to attack it continues to shrink, while the range of the white rook increases. Thus, a rook is better-placed behind one's own pawn.
In the case on the g-file, roles are reversed: White's rook is behind Black's pawn while Black's rook is in front. As the pawn advances, White's rook has more freedom of movement, while Black's becomes ever more constrained. White cannot actively block the pawn, but if Black wishes topromote, Black must at some point move the rook off the g-file, leaving the pawnen prise if there is no other support. Thus, a rook is better-placed behind an enemy pawn.
Position after 54.Rf4–a4. Rook behind its own passed pawn.
In the first diagram, White's rook is behind his passed pawn on thea-file, and the position is won for White.
The winning technique is straightforward:
Move the king towards the passed pawn. The defending king must also move that way, otherwise he will be forced to give up his rook for the pawn.
If the attacking king can penetrate no further because the defending king is in opposition, use tempo moves by the rook up and down the file. Once pawn moves are exhausted, then the defender runs out of options and is inzugzwang.
If the defending rook retreats, then advance the pawn. The defender cannot keep up this strategy. If the defending king sidesteps away from the pawn, the attacking king moves towards the pawn, and forces its advance. The defender will have to give up his rook. So the only option is for the defending king to move towards the pawn.
The attacking king penetrates thekingside pawn structure as far as possible. If the defender wins the passed pawn, an exchange of rooks ensues and the resulting pawn ending is an easy win for the attacker.
At the right moment, the attacking rook abandons the pawn and joins in the attack on the kingside pawns.
Rook behind enemy passed pawn. Position is after White's 35th move; drawn on move 55.
Similar positions with the rook behind the enemy passed pawn are usually adraw, but not always. The next position is after White's 35th move in the eighth game of theHenrique Mecking versusVictor KorchnoiCandidates Quarterfinal match in 1974.[6] White will move Ra6 as soon as possible. Black's rook is in front of his passed pawn on the a-file, and the game ended in a draw on move 55.[7]
Anand vs. Kramnik, 2007
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Position after 35...Rxa3. Rook in front of its passed pawn, opposing rook will get behind the pawn. The game was drawn 30 moves later.
Black advanced the pawn to a2, but could do no better than to exchange the passed pawn and rook for the white rook, reaching aking and pawn endgame that ended in a draw (seestalemate) on move 65.[9]
Unzicker vs. Lundin, 1954
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Rook behind enemy passed pawn. White to move wins.
In the position from a game betweenWolfgang Unzicker andErik Lundin,[10] White to move wins, however48. f3+! is the only winning move. If the black pawn were still on f7, the black king could go back to f6 or g7 and the position would be a draw. (If 48.a7? Ra2+ and 49...Kf3 draws.)[11]
The reason this type of position was long thought to be an easy draw is as follows:
White cannot advance his pawn to the seventhrank, because that would deprive his king of any shelter.
So White must advance his pawn only up to the sixth, so the king can find shelter on a7.
White's only real winning attempt was to move his king up to a7. Then he can play Rb8–b6, Kb7, a7 (threatening Ra6), forcing Black to give up his rook for the pawn.
But while White is spending all this time, Black's rook can win White's kingside pawns, then advance the newly made passed pawns.
It has been known for White to even lose this battle of rook versus many passed pawns.
Thus if White tries too hard to win, he may actually lose.
Recent theoretical analysis of this position shows that White has a strong maneuver:
When the black rook takes a kingside pawn, switch the rook to guarding the pawn from the c-file, i.e. Rc7 then advance the pawn to a7.
Switch the white rook to the a-file with gain of tempo. Thus Black is forced to sacrifice his rook for the pawn without White having to move his king all the way to a7. These many extra tempos make the difference between winning and drawing or even losing.[11]
Black must play very carefully to draw, rather than the very easy draw that was long thought to be the case.[12]
V. Kantorovich, 1988 and J. Steckner, 2003
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Until 2003, this position was thought to be an easy draw.
Kantorovich analyzed the position in the diagram on the right and thought that Black draws with two tempi to spare. In 2003 Steckner found an improvement for White. Black's pieces are in their optimum positions: the rook is behind the a-pawn and attacking the f-pawn and the king is in its most active location. If 1.Ra8 Kf5 Black has an easy draw; however, White has a better plan which wins unless black answers with 1... g5:[13]
1. Kd4!
The f-pawn can be sacrificed. If taken, black allows the white rook to move from a7.
This 2008 game betweenLevon Aronian andVassily Ivanchuk ended in a draw after 62 moves.[15] The evaluation of this type of position with an extra b-pawn is still in flux as of 2010, but current theory is that it is drawish.[16]
White to move draws by repeatedly checking from the first rank.
There are exceptions to the Tarrasch rule. Here are some.
Yuri Averbakh said that the Tarrasch rule is usually correct when only the rooks are battling over the pawn, but when the pawn is blocked by the opposing king, the rook is normally better protecting the pawn from the side.[17]
On a similar note,Cecil Purdy said that a rook is best behind its passed pawn if it is on the fifth rank or higher, or can reach those ranks. If the pawn is held up before the fifth rank, the rook is better in front of the pawn. Often the rook is best protecting the pawn from the side if it is on the fifth rank or higher.[20]
In the ending of a rook and pawn versus a rook, if the defending king is cut off from the pawn's file, then the best defence is with the rook on its first rank.[21] See thefrontal defense.
In the ending of a rook and pawn versus a rook, where the pawn is aknight pawn (b- or g-file), the defending king is in front of the pawn, but the defender cannot get his rook to the third rank for the drawingPhilidor position, the defending rook draws on its first rank but loses if it is attacking the pawn from behind.[22][23]
In the ending of a rook and twoisolated pawns versus a rook, it is generally better for the stronger side to protect the pawns from the side.[24]
If the pawn is arook pawn it is often better for the rook to attack it from the side, especially in a rook and pawn versus rook position.[25] (See theVančura position.)
If a rook is in front of its passed pawn, it is often best for the defending rook to attack from the side. In fact, it is sometimes best to switch the defending rook from behind the pawn to the side.[26]
In the ending of a rook versus a pawn or pawns, the rook is best placed on its first rank.[27][28]
When a rook is battling against pawns, if the pawns are notconnected, it is often best for the rook to hold the pawns up along a rank.[29]
This position fromNigel Short andArtur Yusupov in 1984[30] is an exception to the rule, since white's king is stuck in front of the pawn.[31] White played1. Rh3 (rook behind passed pawn), Black replied1... Kf5 and a draw resulted a few moves later. The move1. Rf7 by White leads to a win.
The position from a 1995 game betweenAndrei Kharlov andAlexander Morozevich[32] is one in which the Tarrasch rule does not apply (for Black).[33] The move 1...Rb7 would be in accordance with the Tarrasch rule, but1... Re5 is the correct method because White's king is cut off from the pawn, White will have to spend a lot of time activating his rook, and by that time the black king will be able to get over to the queenside. The rule still applies for White, however, and the game continued:
The 1993 game betweenVladimir Kramnik andAlexander Beliavsky has an unusual position in which following the Tarrasch Rule is incorrect.[34] White played1. Ra1 and lost. 1.Rb8, abandoning the pawn so the rook can attack from behind, draws. The endgame with rooks and f- and h-pawns was analyzed to be a draw byMikhail Botvinnik in the 1940s (with correct defense).[35]
In this 1992 game[36] betweenArtur Yusupov andJan Timman, 35.Re4! wins but35. Ra1? in the actual game only draws. The game was drawn twenty moves later.[37]
^Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual, 4th Edition, 2014, p 205 indicates that Pogosyan has found it to be a draw with 1...g5!! instead of 1...Rxf2? Several pages of detailed analysis then explains why it is now considered a draw.
