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Rooks behind passed pawns
Tarrasch's rule, on the board.
The most useful rule in rook endings: put your rook BEHIND a passed pawn. Behind your own passer, the rook supports its march and gains scope with every step the pawn takes. Behind the enemy's passer, it ties the defender down. A rook stuck in FRONT of a pawn is passive — it has to move out of the way the moment the pawn advances.
In the diagram, White's rook sits behind its own a-pawn, ready to escort it home, while Black's rook is reduced to a passive blockade in front on a8.
Where does a rook belong relative to a passed pawn?
Answer the question to keep going!