Ferzline
Log in

Rooks behind passed pawns · For club players · 19 min read

Rook Behind the Passed Pawn: Alekhine v Capablanca 1927, Checked

The last game of the 1927 world championship is the textbook rook ending. Stockfish 19 shows the rule decided it twice: once when Alekhine forgot it, once when it won the title.

Alekhine1–0CapablancaWorld Championship match, game 34 · Buenos Aires · 1927 · Queen's Gambit Declined (D51)

Published 11 November 2026Checked by Stockfish 19 WASM Multithreaded, depth 18 to 40

The rook behind, the rook in front+4.65White completely winning
8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hThe pawn's roadWhere White wins
After 54.Ra4 White's rook stands behind the a5 pawn and guards it from a4; Black's rook on a6 must stay in front of it. Every white rook move along the a-file is a free waiting move, and the black rook has none. The game is decided on the other wing, where the white king is heading.
  • plan
  • target
  • The pawn's road
  • Where White wins
  • pawn chain or line of force
Analyse this positionPlay it out against Stockfish

In short

  1. A rook belongs behind a passed pawn: behind your own it guards the pawn and gains room as the pawn advances, behind the opponent's it stops the pawn without being tied down.
  2. In game 34 of the 1927 world championship Alekhine put the rook behind the a5 pawn on move 54, and that pawn never moved again: it tied Black's rook to a6 while the white king won the game on the kingside.
  3. Stockfish 19 shows the rule decided the game twice. On move 38 Alekhine let a winning position slip by putting the queen in front of the pawn instead of behind it (38.Qa1 kept the win), and on move 41 Capablanca's 41...Qb1+ let it back.
  4. In the rook ending Capablanca's best defence was an active rook (59...Rf6 or 60...Rf6), not a passive one; Alekhine won anyway.
  5. To use it: get the rook behind the pawn, let the pawn tie down the enemy rook and king, then attack the other wing with your king.

How we know what we say

  • Verified From the record: Stockfish's numbers, the players' own notes or interviews, or a cited source.
  • Inferred Read from the moves and the position: a reasoned reconstruction, not the player's words.
  • Speculative A guess about mood, intent or practical motives: plausible, not proven.

Part 1The setting: the last game of a 34-game match

Jose Raul Capablanca had been world champion since 1921. In 1927 Alexander Alekhine challenged Capablanca in Buenos Aires, in a match that began on 16 September and was won by the first player to six wins. Draws did not count, and there were many of them: 25 of the 34 games were drawn. [7] Verified

Game 34 began on 26 November with Alekhine leading by five wins to three. One more win would make Alekhine champion. The game was adjourned after 41.Rd7 and ended on 29 November, when Capablanca resigned on move 82 and the match ended +6 −3 =25. [7][4][2] Verified

The match in numbers. The first player to six wins took the title.
AlekhineCapablanca
Wins before game 3453
Game 3410
Final wins63
Draws2525

The ending that decided it is one of the most reprinted in chess. Wikipedia uses it to illustrate the Tarrasch rule, and ChessBase's Wolfram Schön notes that almost every endgame expert of the last century has annotated it. Most of those notes start at move 54, when the rook goes behind the pawn. This article starts earlier. [6][4] Verified

Part 2The idea at a glance: why the rook belongs behind the passed pawn

The rook behind the passed pawn is the rule that a rook should stand on the same file as a passed pawn, on the side the pawn has come from: behind your own passed pawn to support its advance, behind the opponent's to hold it up. A passed pawn is one that no enemy pawn can stop or capture on its way to promotion.

The rooks belong behind passed pawns, behind their own in order to support their advance, behind the enemy's in order to impede their advance.

Siegbert Tarrasch, as translated in the English edition of the St. Petersburg 1914 tournament book [6]

The reason is geometry. A rook behind its pawn gains a square of room each time the pawn moves, and it guards the pawn from any distance. A rook in front of the pawn loses a square each time the pawn moves, and once the pawn reaches the seventh rank that rook is boxed in on the eighth. The defender's rook, meanwhile, wants the reverse: behind the attacker's pawn it attacks from a distance and is free; in front of it, it is a blockader that cannot leave. Inferred

Good: the attacker's rook behind+4.63White completely winning
8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h
White's rook on a1 guards a5 from behind and has a free waiting move on every square of the a-file. Black's rook on a6 must stay in front of the pawn and can do nothing else.
  • plan
  • target
  • pawn chain or line of force
Analyse this positionPlay it out against Stockfish
Bad: the attacker's rook in front0.00about equal
8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h
Now White's rook is stuck on a8 in front of its own pawn, and Black's rook sits behind it on a2. If the white rook leaves a8, the a7 pawn falls; Black's king stays on g7 and h7 and holds.
  • target
  • key square
  • pawn chain or line of force
Analyse this positionPlay it out against Stockfish

The same material, a pawn up for White in both, and opposite verdicts. On the left the rook behind the pawn is the attacker's spare piece; on the right the rook in front is the attacker's prisoner. Stockfish's numbers above the boards show the gap.

Part 3The opening: how a Queen's Gambit made an outside passed pawn

Nearly every game of the match was a Queen's Gambit Declined, and so was this one. Black gave up the centre with 8...dxc4, freed the position with ...c5 and ...e5, and by move 22 the bishops were off and Stockfish called the game level. [3] Verified

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.e3 c6 6.a3 Be7 7.Nf3 O-O 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nd5 10.Bxe7 Qxe7 11.Ne4 N5f6 12.Ng3 c5 13.O-O Nb6 14.Ba2 cxd4 15.Nxd4 g6 +0.32about equal

The first fifteen moves. Both sides develop and trade a pair of bishops; nothing is decided yet. Verified

The structure came from a burst of trades on the queenside. After 23.Qa5 Nc4 24.Qxa7 Nxb2 25.Rxc8 Rxc8 26.Qxb7 the a- and b-pawns of Black are gone and White's a3 pawn has no enemy pawn in front of it or beside it. It is an outside passed pawn: passed, and far from the other pawns, all of which are on the kingside.

A passed pawn far from everything+0.09about equal
8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hNo pawn can stop it
After 26.Qxb7 White's a3 pawn is passed and four files from the nearest other pawn. Black has the e4 pawn to aim at in return, so Stockfish still calls it close to level. The a-pawn is a long-term asset: the further the game goes toward an ending, the more it counts.
  • plan
  • outpost
  • target
  • No pawn can stop it
Analyse this positionPlay it out against Stockfish

Engines and annotators agree that Black was fine until this point. Garry Kasparov called 26...Nc4, the next move, the only real mistake Capablanca made in the game; Stockfish 19 also marks it as the first move that costs Black about a pawn. [4] Verified

Part 4The plans: push the a-pawn, or blockade it and attack

By move 37 the pieces were thinned out to a queen, a rook and four pawns against a queen, a rook and three pawns. White's extra pawn was the passed a-pawn. Each side had one plan, and each plan was about where the heavy pieces stood on the a-file.

White's plan: heavy pieces behind the pawn+1.08White clearly better
8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hThe pawn's road
With the rook on a2 behind the a4 pawn, White wants a5 and a6, with the queen joining from a1 if needed. A queen trade would leave a rook ending with the rook already behind the pawn.
  • plan
  • idea not played
  • The pawn's road
  • pawn chain or line of force
Analyse this positionPlay it out against Stockfish
Black's plan: blockade and counterattack+1.08White clearly better
8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hWhite's king
Black puts a piece in front of the pawn and uses the queen against the white king, starting with f2. The blockader holds the pawn, but it is passive: a rook in front of a pawn defends and does nothing else.
  • plan
  • threat
  • key square
  • target
  • White's king
Analyse this positionPlay it out against Stockfish

One position, two plans. White wants every heavy piece behind the a-pawn; Black wants one piece in front of it and the rest on the white king. Whoever puts the pieces on the right side of the pawn first sets the course of the game.

Part 5The critical moments

Three decisions settled where the rooks would stand when the queens came off. Try each position before opening the answer.

12345
Close to level until 26...Nc4, then a slow climb for White with two big swings in the queen ending: down to almost level after 38.Qc7, and up to a win after 41...Qb1+. The rook ending from move 50 is winning throughout. Above the line White is better, below it Black; the diamonds are the critical moments.
  1. 1 38.Qc7 Where does the queen help the a-pawn?
  2. 2 41...Qb1+ Capablanca's last chance: check, or counterattack?
  3. 3 52.Rd5 Behind the pawn at once, or cut off the king first?
  4. 5 60...Kc5 Shuffle the king, or free the rook?
  5. 4 62.Kd4 Keep the king near the pawn, or switch wings?

Critical moment 1 of 5 · Move 38, White to play

Where does the queen help the a-pawn?

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hThe pawn's road
  • key square
  • outpost
  • The pawn's road
Your move as Alekhine

Black's rook has come to a5 to blockade the pawn. White's queen can join the attack on the black king or support the pawn. Where does it belong?

Think it through on the board
Weigh the candidates
MoveStockfishVerdict
38.Qa1 38...Qxa1+ 39.Rxa1+2.31White winningStockfish's choice. The queen goes behind the pawn and offers a trade; if Black takes, White's rook recaptures on a1 and stands behind the pawn in a winning rook ending. Verified
38.Qe1+0.26about equalKasparov's suggestion, according to Petronijević: it covers the first rank and keeps the queens on. Stockfish rates it close to level, about two pawns below Qa1, as Petronijević also found. Verified
What Alekhine played

38.Qc7+0.11about equal

Alekhine played 38.Qc7, putting the queen on the seventh rank to attack the f7 pawn and the black king. It is an active move, but it leaves the a-pawn to the rook on a2 alone and lets the black queen in.

Stockfish preferred 38.Qa1 (+2.32); the game move gave up about 2.2 pawns. Depth 28.

What it revealed

Alekhine chose attack over technique. The win lay in supporting the pawn from behind and trading queens; the queen in front of the pawn's rank, aiming at the king, let Black's queen back into the game.

What Stockfish adds Stockfish 19 rates 38.Qa1 at more than two pawns for White and 38.Qc7 at close to level: a single move gave back the whole advantage. Petronijević reached the same verdict and wrote that no one had noticed it before.

  • Verified Petronijević called 38.Qc7 a mistake that throws away the advantage, and found that 38.Qa1 wins.[4]
  • Inferred 38.Qa1 is the Tarrasch rule with a queen: the heavy piece behind the passed pawn, ready to become a rook behind it after the trade.

Critical moment 2 of 5 · Move 41, Black to play

Capablanca's last chance: check, or counterattack?

1h2g3f4e5d6c7b8a
  • threat
  • target
Your move as Capablanca

The game resumes after the adjournment. White's rook has reached d7 and the f7 pawn is attacked. Black's queen can give checks; the rook on a5 can also join in. What would you play?

Think it through on the board
Weigh the candidates
MoveStockfishVerdict
41...Rf5 42.Qd4 Qb1+ 43.Kh2+0.13about equalStockfish's choice. The rook leaves the blockade to defend f7 and attack f2 at once, and Stockfish rates the position close to level. Verified
41...Kg8+5.98White completely winningGuards f7 with the king, a passive defence that gives White time to bring everything up; Stockfish rates it as lost, worse even than the game move. Verified
What Capablanca played

41...Qb1++2.41White winning

Capablanca played 41...Qb1+, the first move after the adjournment. The checks drive the white king to h2, but they do not change the position, and after 42.Kh2 Qb8+ 43.g3 Black's rook still has to come to f5 a move too late.

Stockfish preferred 41...Rf5 (+0.06); the game move gave up about 2.4 pawns. Depth 29.

What it revealed

Capablanca relied on the queen's checks rather than the rook's activity. The rook on a5 was the passive piece; freeing it at once was the only way to keep Black's counterplay alive.

What Stockfish adds Stockfish 19 rates 41...Rf5 close to level and 41...Qb1+ at more than two pawns for White: the move after the adjournment cost more than two pawns. Petronijević calls 41...Rf5 Capablanca's last chance to hold the game.

  • Verified Petronijević writes that after 41...Rf5 Black has great chances to save the game, and that after 41...Qb1 Black's position stays objectively lost until resignation.[4]
  • Speculative Capablanca may have kept the rook on a5 because it looked needed against the a-pawn, and trusted the queen checks to hold the kingside.

After 49...Qxd4 50.Rxd4 the queens were gone. Stockfish rates the rook ending as winning for White, and Schön calls that undisputed. The rest of the game is about how, and the rook's square is the first question. [5] Verified

Critical moment 3 of 5 · Move 52, White to play

Behind the pawn at once, or cut off the king first?

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hBlack king's road
  • outpost
  • target
  • Black king's road
Your move as Alekhine

White has pushed the pawn to a5 and Black's rook has stepped in front of it on a6, attacking it. White's rook is on d4. Where should it go?

Think it through on the board
Weigh the candidates
MoveStockfishVerdict
52.Ra4+4.65White completely winningStockfish's choice: the rook goes behind the pawn at once, the Tarrasch rule played straight away. Verified
52.Kf30.00about equalBrings the king first, but it leaves the a5 pawn to ...Rxa5, and Stockfish calls the result a draw. Verified
52.Rb40.00about equalPuts the rook on the b-file next to the pawn, but it no longer guards a5: ...Rxa5 follows and Stockfish calls it a draw. Verified
What Alekhine played

52.Rd5+4.66White completely winning

Alekhine played 52.Rd5, guarding the pawn along the fifth rank, beside it rather than behind it, to keep the black king away from the queenside. It took two more moves, 53.Rd4 and 54.Ra4, to get the rook behind the pawn after all.

Stockfish preferred 52.Ra4 (+4.83); the game move gave up about 0.2 pawns. Depth 25.

What it revealed

Even the winner did not follow the rule at the first chance. Alekhine's own note, as Schön reports it, calls 52.Rd5 a harmless attempt and admits White has to settle for Rd4-a4.

  • Verified Schön points out that most endgame books start the commentary at move 54 and so leave out that Alekhine first put the rook beside the pawn.[5]
  • Verified Stockfish rates the rook ending as winning after 52.Rd5 too; the cost is time, not the result.

A harmless attempt to cut off the black king. White, however, will have to get comfortable with Rd4-a4

Alekhine on 52.Rd5, as quoted by Wolfram Schön [5]

Part 6The turning point: the king leaves the pawn behind

From move 54 the position is the textbook one. The rook on a4 guards the pawn; Black's rook on a6 cannot leave; Black's king has to stay near the pawn too, because if it walks away White's king escorts the pawn to a7 and the rook must be given up for it. Capablanca brought the king to b5 and c5 and waited. For eight moves the kings shuffled on the queenside, and then White changed wings. Inferred

Critical moment 4 of 5 · Move 62, White to play

Keep the king near the pawn, or switch wings?

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hSquares the king wants
  • outpost
  • target
  • Squares the king wants
Your move as Alekhine

Black's king and rook are both tied to the a5 pawn. White's king is on c3, guarding the pawn's road. What is the plan?

Think it through on the board
Weigh the candidates
MoveStockfishVerdict
62.Kb3+4.58White completely winningKeeps guarding the pawn but goes nowhere: Black can answer ...Kc5 and White has made no progress. Stockfish still rates it winning, about a pawn below Kd4. Verified
62.Ra1+4.83White completely winningA waiting move along the a-file, typical of the rook behind the pawn; Stockfish still rates it winning, below Kd4, because White still has to find a plan. Verified
62.Kd3+4.81White completely winningHeads to the centre more slowly; still winning by Stockfish's count, below the game move. Verified
What Alekhine played

62.Kd4+5.58White completely winning

Alekhine played 62.Kd4 and walked the king to e5, f4, g5 and h6. The a5 pawn is left with only the rook to guard it, which is all it needs: if Black's king takes it, the black king is far from the kingside.

Stockfish's first choice too. Depth 23.

What it revealed

The rook behind the pawn does its work by standing still. It ties two black pieces to the a-file, and that frees the white king to attack three pawns that only the black rook can defend.

  • Verified Stockfish's first choice is 62.Kd4, the game move.
  • Verified Wikipedia's summary of the technique: the attacking king penetrates on the other wing, and the rook leaves the pawn at the right moment to attack the kingside pawns.[6]
The finish: the king among the pawns+4.11White completely winning
8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hBlack's last pawns
After 70.f5 gxf5 71.Kh6 the white king stands next to h5 and close to f7 while Black's king is still on a6. Black takes the a-pawn five moves later, but by then the rook can leave it and the kingside pawns fall.
  • target
  • key square
  • Black's last pawns
Analyse this positionPlay it out against Stockfish

67...Rc5 68.Ra3 Rc7 69.Kg7 Rd7 70.f5 gxf5 71.Kh6 f4 72.gxf4 Rd5 73.Kg7 Rf5 74.Ra4 Kb5 75.Re4 Ka6 76.Kh6 Rxa5 77.Re5 Ra1 78.Kxh5 Rg1 79.Rg5 Rh1 80.Rf5 Kb6 81.Rxf7 Kc6 82.Re7 +6.48White completely winning

The rest of the game after 67.f4. The pawn on a5 falls on move 76, but White's king and rook win the kingside pawns and Capablanca resigns after 82.Re7. Verified

Note how the pawn is used. From 51.a5 until Black takes it on move 76, the a-pawn never moves. It did not win by running; it won by being there. [1][2] Verified

Part 7What Capablanca could have done in the rook ending

Once the rook ending arrived it was lost, but the defence matters, because club players meet this ending from both sides. Schön's analysis and Stockfish agree on the defender's best idea: free the rook from the a-file whenever the white king is not ready to punish it. [5] Verified

Critical moment 5 of 5 · Move 60, Black to play

Shuffle the king, or free the rook?

1h2g3f4e5d6c7b8a
  • key square
  • target
Your move as Capablanca

White's king has stepped back to b3. Black's king is on b5 and the rook on a6. Black can keep the kings in opposition or try something else. What gives the most resistance?

Think it through on the board
Weigh the candidates
MoveStockfishVerdict
60...Rf6 61.Kc3 Ka6+4.99White completely winningStockfish's choice and Schön's: the rook leaves the a-file, attacks f2 and ties White's rook to its defence, while the black king takes over the blockade from a6. Verified
60...Rc6+6.39White completely winningActivates the rook with check threats on the c-file, but the black king is not in front of the pawn; Stockfish rates it below Rf6. Verified
60...Rd6+6.71White completely winningCuts the white king off on the d-file, but leaves f2 alone; Stockfish rates it below Rf6. Verified
What Capablanca played

60...Kc5+5.66White completely winning

Capablanca played 60...Kc5, keeping the king in opposition and the rook on a6. It is the textbook defence, and it is passive: the rook stays a blockader.

Stockfish preferred 60...Rf6 (+4.58); the game move gave up about 1.1 pawns. Depth 23.

What it revealed

Capablanca trusted the king to hold the queenside and the rook to hold the pawn. The better trade was the reverse: the king blockades the pawn from a6 and the rook works.

What Stockfish adds Stockfish 19 rates 60...Rf6 about a pawn better than 60...Kc5. White is winning in both lines, but after 60...Rf6 the winning path is narrower.

  • Verified Schön marks 59...Kb5 and 60...Kc5 as dubious and calls 60...Rf6 the best chance, a much better version of Capablanca's defensive plan.[5][4]
  • Inferred The idea is the defender's half of Tarrasch's rule: the king, not the rook, is the right blockader, because a blockading king also defends.

60...Rf6 61.Kc3 Ka6 62.Kd4 Kb7 63.Kd5 Kc7 +4.47White completely winning

Stockfish's defence with 60...Rf6: the black king walks to the queenside in front of the pawn and the rook keeps White busy on f2. White still wins, but slowly. Verified

Part 8A different angle: the rule decided the game before the rook ending

The usual account of this game starts with 54.Ra4 and praises a clean conversion. Checked move by move with Stockfish 19, the bigger story is earlier. Every one of Stockfish's important improvements for White between moves 36 and 38 puts a heavy piece behind the a-pawn: 36.a5 followed by Ra4 and Qa1, and 38.Qa1 offering the queen trade. Alekhine twice chose activity elsewhere and the advantage shrank each time. Verified

The moves that changed the evaluation, by Stockfish 19 (depth 18 to 29 here). What each move cost against the engine's choice, in pawns.
MovePlayed byStockfish's choiceWhat it cost
26...Nc4Capablanca26...Nd3about a pawn
29...Nxe4Capablanca29...Ne8about a pawn
30.Nxe5Alekhine30.Nxe4about a pawn
35...Rb8Capablanca35...Ra6more than a pawn
36.Re2Alekhine36.a5more than a pawn
38.Qc7Alekhine38.Qa1more than two pawns
41...Qb1+Capablanca41...Rf5more than two pawns

There is a second correction, and it cuts the other way. The rule is not the only way to win. Schön shows that 53.Rb5, keeping the rook beside the pawn, also wins comfortably, and that the placement of the rook is one factor among several: the file of the pawn, the activity of the kings and the kingside structure count as much. [5][4] Verified

The rule broken, and still winning: 53.Rb5+4.09White completely winning
8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h
Schön's alternative to 53.Rd4: the rook stays beside the pawn on b5, ready for Rb6 and a6. Stockfish still rates White as winning. A far-advanced a-pawn and a free white king matter more here than the rook's exact square.
  • plan
  • outpost
  • pawn chain or line of force
Analyse this positionPlay it out against Stockfish

Schön also compares a very similar ending from Alekhine's 1937 return match with Max Euwe, game 23, where Alekhine's extra pawn was on the b-file. A b-pawn is one file closer to the defender's king, which could reach both wings in time, and Euwe drew. The rule held in both games; the distance did not. [5] Verified

Part 9How to use the rook behind the passed pawn in your games

Rook endings are the most common endings in club chess, and a pawn-up rook ending with a passed pawn is the most common of those. The recipe Alekhine used works for any player who knows it.

The recipe

  1. Make the passed pawn far awayAn outside passed pawn, on the a- or h-file or near it, is the strongest kind: the defending king needs the most time to reach it, and it is far from the other pawns.
  2. Put the rook behind itBehind the pawn, on the same file. If you cannot go there directly, route the rook there over two moves, as Alekhine did with Rd4 and Ra4.
  3. Push until it ties the enemy downAdvance the pawn far enough that the enemy rook must stay in front of it. After that the pawn need not move at all: Alekhine's stayed on a5 for 25 moves.
  4. Use the rook's spare movesA rook behind its pawn can move along the file without losing anything. Those spare moves win zugzwang fights between the kings.
  5. Attack the other wing with the kingWhen the enemy king is tied to the passed pawn, take your king to the other side and win pawns there, as Alekhine did from move 62.

The same rule helps the defender. Against a passed pawn, put your rook behind it, not in front of it, and keep your king as the blockader. The Philidor position and the Lucena position are the two basic rook endings every player should know alongside it, and the active king article shows the king's role in these endings.

  • Is my rook behind my passed pawn, and the enemy rook in front of it?
  • Is the enemy king tied to my pawn?
  • Is my king free to go to the other wing?
  • Do I have spare rook moves on the pawn's file for zugzwang?
  • As the defender: is my king the blockader and my rook active?

Your turnPractise it

Set each position up, decide your plan before you look, then play it out against Stockfish to see whether it holds.

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h

White to play after 51...Ra6: where does the rook on d4 belong?

Hint

The pawn is on a5 and Black's rook stands in front of it. Which square is behind the pawn?

A good answer

52.Ra4, behind the pawn at once. Stockfish's first choice; Alekhine played 52.Rd5 first and reached a4 two moves later.

Play it outAnalyse
8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h

White to play after 35...Rb8: the rook on e4 and the queen on c1 can support the a4 pawn. What is the strongest move?

Hint

The pawn is the asset. Can it advance now, with the heavy pieces coming behind it?

A good answer

36.a5, then Ra4 and Qa1 behind the pawn. Stockfish rates it more than a pawn better than Alekhine's 36.Re2.

Play it outAnalyse
1h2g3f4e5d6c7b8a

Black to play after 59.Ra2: Black's rook is stuck on a6. Find the most stubborn defence.

Hint

Which white pawn can only be guarded by the rook on the second rank?

A good answer

59...Rf6, attacking f2 and leaving the blockade to the king. Stockfish's first choice; Schön also gives it. Capablanca played 59...Kb5.

Play it outAnalyse

Part 10What to take from this game

  • Behind, not in front. A rook behind its passed pawn is free; a rook in front of it is a prisoner.
  • The pawn need not run. Alekhine's a-pawn stood on a5 for 25 moves and still decided the game, by tying down Black's rook and king.
  • Win on the other wing. The passed pawn ties the defence to one side; the attacking king wins on the other.
  • The rule applies with the queens on. Stockfish's improvements on moves 36 and 38 all put a heavy piece behind the pawn.
  • Defend actively. Blockade with the king, keep the rook free: Capablanca's best chances were 41...Rf5 and 60...Rf6.

Questions readers ask

Why should a rook be behind a passed pawn?

Because behind the pawn the rook guards it from a distance and gains room every time the pawn advances, while the enemy rook in front of the pawn loses room and is tied down. Behind an enemy passed pawn, your rook attacks it without becoming a passive blockader.

What is the Tarrasch rule in chess?

The Tarrasch rule says rooks belong behind passed pawns: behind your own to support their advance, behind your opponent's to stop them. It is named after Siegbert Tarrasch, who stated it in the book of the St. Petersburg 1914 tournament. It is a guideline with exceptions, not a law.

Is the rook always better behind the passed pawn?

No. It is the usual rule, but a rook on the seventh rank or one that cuts off the enemy king can be stronger. In Alekhine v Capablanca 1927, Stockfish and Wolfram Schön show that a rook beside the pawn (53.Rb5) also wins. Check the kings and the pawn's file before choosing.

How did Alekhine beat Capablanca in game 34 of 1927?

Alekhine reached a rook ending a pawn up with an outside passed a-pawn, put the rook behind it on a4, and used the pawn to tie down Black's rook and king while the white king attacked Black's kingside pawns. Capablanca resigned on move 82, and the win made Alekhine world champion.

How do you win a rook endgame a pawn up?

Usually by making the extra pawn a passed pawn, putting the rook behind it, and using it to tie the enemy pieces down while your king attacks the other wing. Trade pawns, not rooks, unless the king and pawn ending is clearly won, and keep your rook active.

Sources and method

The game score was checked against two independent sources. Every position, line and candidate in this article was replayed for legality, and every engine number was produced by Stockfish 19 WASM Multithreaded for this article (depth 18 to 40, deepest at the critical moments), not copied from elsewhere. What the players thought is reconstructed from the moves, their published notes and later analysis; it is labelled as verified, inferred or speculative, and nothing is presented as a quotation unless a source is cited for it.

  1. Alekhine v Capablanca, World Championship 1927, game 34: game score in the Alekhine collection (pgnmentor.com)
  2. The same game score from ChessBase's database, published with Karsten Müller's riddle (ChessBase PGN)
  3. Karsten Müller, "Endgame Riddle: Alekhine vs Capablanca", ChessBase, 17 October 2022
  4. Karsten Müller, "Riddle solved: Capablanca missed several drawing opportunities", with analysis by Zoran Petronijević and Wolfram Schön, ChessBase, 27 October 2022
  5. Wolfram Schön's annotated analysis of the rook ending (ChessBase PGN)
  6. Tarrasch rule (Wikipedia)
  7. World Chess Championship 1927 (Wikipedia)

Read next

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hBlockade the Passed Pawn: Abdusattorov v Praggnanandhaa, Checked

A pawn up, a rook ending, and a central passed pawn: Tata Steel 2026 shows why the king must reach the square in front of it, and Stockfish 19 finds where the defence went wrong.

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hOpposite-Coloured Bishops: Shirov's 47...Bh3 Checked by Stockfish

Topalov traded queens into an opposite-coloured bishops ending that looked drawn. Shirov won it with 47...Bh3. Stockfish 19 says the sacrifice was the only winning move, and the ending was lost before it.

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hActive King in the Endgame: Capablanca's King Walk, Checked

Capablanca gave up two pawns to march the king into Tartakower's camp in 1924. Stockfish 19 says the king walk was sound, but the game was decided two moves earlier.

Turn reading into skill

Strategy sticks when you use it. Practise real positions with Stockfish's verdict at once, or play the plans out from any diagram above.

▶ Practise positionsMore strategy articlesGrandmaster games