Advice on Developing your ROs, Level-1

ROs should be left on the back rank, at the ends of effective files.

01 The most effective files are ‘open files’ (files free of mps).

02 Next come ‘openable files’ (files that can at any time be cleared of mps by an exchange).

03 Then come ‘semi-open files’ (files that are clear of mps at least half-way along or can be so cleared).

If there are two effective files, place a RO on each as soon as possible. If there is only one, place at least one RO on it (if the file is open, you should if possible double RO1 and RO2 on it, one behind the other). If there are no effective files then defer the development of RO1 and RO2 until an effective file is made. Seize any open file with a RO as soon as possible. But note that a RO commands a file just as well from the first cell in the file as from any other cell. Therefore, as a rule, keep your RO there as long as the board remains crowded. If moved out, your RO is exposed to attack. ROs are stronger MPs than KTs or BSs. RO1 or RO2 is usually worth roughly the same as a BS and two PAs, or a KT and two PAs. KTs, BSs, ROs and QUs are MPs. The RO can move in a straight line along a rank or file, but in one direction only each go. RO1 and RO2 are not allowed to jump over an occupied cell (see ‘Chinese Chess’ - CN), except in the special case of castling.

++CM with RO and mps

The commonest type of ending and the one that is the most often mishandled is the RO and mp finale. To play the endgame well it is essential to have a thorough grasp of the basic principles of this ending, and it is significant that the greatest mature players of endgame play have been those that excelled in this particular type of ending. The set winning position is known as the ‘Lucena position’ after a Spanish Chess writer of the 15th century. The conditions normally necessary for a win with a RO and PA against RO are as follows - Level-1,

01 B-KI must be cut off from the promoting cell (rank-8).

02 A-KI must be able to reach the promotion cell or, at the very least, be in contact with the mp.

It should be noted that much also depends on the file on which the mp is placed. The most difficult is that on file-H (8 x 8 board) and frequently only a draw is possible in which the previous procedure will not work as A-KI cannot get away from the corner cell. Having an aggressive RO position is considered an advantage in the endgame and to force your opponent into having ‘passive ROs’. A ROs proper position is behind a :pa-PA (your own or an enemy PA).

Rook - Symbolism - Mythology

Castles/Citadel: the self - sometimes symbolized as two castles, the centers of two different kingdoms which need to be united. The image of the castle emphasized that it is as difficult to get to know the inner self as it is to storm a castle. A female figure (the Damsel, incarcerated or enchanted, usually plays a key role). Towns used to be laid out as part of a ritual with everything done and chosen for its symbolic value i.e., a cemetery might be placed at the center of the city, as representing the trunk of the tree of life. Symbolic significance of the ‘dream-house’, temples/churches built to designs represent an overall pattern of the psyche in mandala form. Gargoyles on the outside of the church, represent monsters guarding the treasure. Twin towers represent the split in the psyche.

The hero slays the dragon and extracts its teeth, which turn into mighty warriors when sown in the ground etc. The RO - the governor of a castle - colloquial name. A walled defensible enclosure, typically reached by a bridge over a circular moat of water: an ambivalent symbol in that it both includes and excludes. It may protect its inhabitants against monsters, ogres, depending which side of its walls you stand. In myth, castles typically contain a treasure (the Holy Grail, or royal prisoner - even the KI!). An extension of the treasure-cave guarded by a dragon or a loathy worm, such a castle represents Camelot, a realm of spiritual aspiration and attainment. In the human body, its treasure is the mind, its mystery is our ignorance as to our own true human nature.

Chariot: in the Katha Upanishad (III:3-4) it is written: “Know that the Self is the lord of the chariot, the body verily is the chariot - know that the soul is the charioteer, and emotion the reins”. They say that the bodily powers are the horses, and that the external world is their field. In myth, chariots are drawn by many different creatures according to the nature of the charioteer.

01 The solar chariot of Apollo is drawn by white horses. Solar chariots may also be drawn by griffons or swans.

02 The chariot of the Norse Thor is drawn by solar rams.

03 The lunar chariot of Norse Freya by cats.

04 That of the Celtic Flidass, goddess of wild things, by deer.

05 That of Cybele by lions.

06 That of Venus by doves.

07 That of Pluto by black horses.

The chariot of the Greek war god Ares is also horse drawn, as are the chariots of many battle heroes.

01 Chariot symbolism survives in the 7th card of the Major Arcana of the Tarot - the Chariot. It portrays a spear-carrying prince erect in his chariot. He holds no reins - the chariot is drawn not by horses but by two sphinxes, so as to imply the charioteer is one who has answered the riddle of the Sphinx and thus triumphed on all planes of human endeavour, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

02 Arianrhod: (‘Silver Wheel’), was associated with the constellation Corona Borealis (‘Northern Crown’), in the starry regions, of which she maintained Caer Sidi, an otherworld castle of initiation where the dead went between incarnations.

03 In the Welsch ‘The Tale of Taliesin’, Gwion-Taliesin, whose original country is in the summer stars, spends three periods in Arianrhod’s prison while awaiting resurrection.

04 Bhagavad Gita: Arjuna, reluctant to make war on his cousins, is persuaded to do so by the god Krishna, his charioteer.

ROOK Symbols

:ds-RO = Double Sacrifice Rook..............................43:01

:co-ROs = Connected Rooks.....................................43:02

:di-ROs = Disconnected Rooks.................................43:03

:co-KTs = Connected Knights...................................43:04

Movement and Capture

The Rook moves an arbitrary number of cells in horizontal or vertical direction, but may not jump over occupied cells.  Rooks take in the same way as they move without taking. It moves forwards, backwards and sideways as many squares as it likes.  Up and down, left and right.  A Rook can be BLOCKED by a friendly piece.  A Rook can CAPTURE an enemy piece by moving onto its square.  To make a capture you take the enemy piece off the board and replace your piece on that square.  It's NOT the same as Checkers (Draughts) - you DO NOT capture by jumping over an enemy piece. 

Piececlopedia: Rook
(Historical notes)

The RO was a MP that already appeared in the first variant of Chess: Chaturanga. Its movement nowadays is still the same as it was about one and a half millennium ago. In Chaturanga, it was called Ratha, a Sanskrit word meaning chariot. The Arabs still called the piece chariot, in their language Rukh (see Shatranj.)

In medieval times, it was adapted to the Italian language using the word rocco (because the two words sound alike), which means tower.

In several languages, the Rook is called tower (e.g., Turm in German, Toren in Dutch.) Hence the representation of the MP as a tower or castle. Officially, the piece (in English) is called a rook, although it sometimes is referred to as a castle.

Rook graphics