Chess pieces
	King
	Queen
	Rook
	Bishop
	Knight
	Pawn

A rook (♖ ♜,borrowed from Persian رخ rokh, Sanskrit roth, "chariot") is a piece in the strategy board game of chess. Each player starts with two rooks, one in each of the corners nearest their own side. In algebraic notation, white's rooks start on a1 and h1, while black's rooks start on a8 and h8. Original Staunton chess pieces, left to right: pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, and king. ... Image File history File links Chess_kdt45. ... Staunton chess pieces, left to right: pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, and king. ... Image File history File links Chess_klt45. ... Image File history File links Chess_qdt45. ... Queen. ... Image File history File links Chess_qlt45. ... Image File history File links Chess_rdt45. ... Image File history File links Chess_rlt45. ... Image File history File links Chess_bdt45. ... A bishop (♗♝) is a piece in the board game of chess. ... Image File history File links Chess_blt45. ... Image File history File links Chess_ndt45. ... The knight moves in an L shape. ... Image File history File links Chess_nlt45. ... Image File history File links Chess_pdt45. ... This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. ... Image File history File links Chess_plt45. ... Image File history File links Chess_rdt45. ... Image File history File links Chess_rlt45. ... Farsi redirects here. ... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Original Staunton chess pieces, left to right: pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, and king. ... A board game is a game played with counters or pieces that are placed on, removed from, or moved across a board (a premarked surface, usually specific to that game). ... This article is about the Western board game. ... Chessboard notation Algebraic chess notation is used to record and describe the moves in a game of chess. ...

The rook moves horizontally or vertically, forward or back, through any number of unoccupied squares, as shown in the diagram below. Like other pieces, it captures by occupying the square on which an enemy piece stands. The rook also participates, along with the king, in a special move called castling. Staunton chess pieces, left to right: pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, and king. ... Initial position of kings and rooks Black has castled kingside (O-O), and White has castled queenside (O-O-O) Castling is a special move in the game of chess involving the king and either of the original rooks of the same color. ...

History

Originally, the rook symbolized a chariot. The Persian word rokh means chariot, and the corresponding pieces in Oriental chess games such as xiangqi and shogi have names meaning chariot. Persian War Chariots were heavily armoured, carrying a driver and at least one ranged-weapon bearer, such as an archer. The sides of the chariot were built to resemble fortified stone work, giving the impression of small, mobile buildings, causing terror on the battlefield. However, in the West, the rook is almost universally represented as a fortified tower. One possible explanation is that when the game was imported to Italy, the Persian rokh became the Italian word rocca, meaning fortress. Another possible explanation is that rooks represent siege towers. Rooks are usually made to look like small castles, and as a result, a rook is sometimes called a "castle", usually by non-players and those new to the game. This usage was common in the past ("The Rook, or Castle, is next in power to the Queen" —Howard Staunton, 1847) but today it is rarely, if ever, used in the literature or among players, except in reference to castling. (Here, "castle" is a verb referring to a move, not a noun referring to a piece.) For other uses, see Chariot (disambiguation). ... Farsi redirects here. ... Chinese chess redirects here. ... This article is about the Japanese board game. ... 19th century French drawing of a medieval belfry. ... Howard Staunton Howard Staunton (April 1810–June 22, 1874) was an English chess master and unofficial World Chess Champion. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Initial position of kings and rooks Black has castled kingside (O-O), and White has castled queenside (O-O-O) Castling is a special move in the game of chess involving the king and either of the original rooks of the same color. ...

Strategy

In general, rooks are stronger than bishops or knights and are consequently considered about two pawns greater in value. Winning a rook for a bishop or knight is referred to as winning the exchange. Two rooks are generally considered to be worth slightly more than a queen. Rooks and queens are called heavy pieces or major pieces, as opposed to bishops and knights, which are called minor pieces (see Chess piece point value). A bishop (♗♝) is a piece in the board game of chess. ... The knight moves in an L shape. ... This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Queen. ... In chess, the chess pieces are often assigned certain point values as a heuristic that help determine how valuable a piece is strategically. ...

The white rook may move to any square with a white dot. The black rook may move to any square marked with a black dot or capture the white pawn.

In the opening, the rooks are undefended by other pieces, so it is usually desirable to unite one's rooks on the first rank by castling and clearing all pieces except the king and rooks from the first rank. In that position, the rooks protect each other, and can easily move to threaten the most favorable files. Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... 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Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ...

A common goal with a rook is to place it on the first rank of an "open" file, i.e. one unobstructed by pawns of either player, or a "half-open" file, i.e. one unobstructed by friendly pawns. From this position, the rook is relatively unexposed to risk but can control every square on the file. If one file is particularly important, a player may advance one rook on it, and move the other behind, doubling the rooks.

A rook on the seventh rank (the opponent's second rank) is usually very powerful, as it threatens the opponent's unadvanced pawns and hems in the enemy king. Two rooks on the seventh rank are often enough to force victory, or at least a draw by perpetual check. These rooks are sometimes colloquially referred to as "pigs on the seventh", because they often threaten to "eat" the opponent's pieces or pawns. In the game of chess, perpetual check is a special case of draw by threefold repetition, in which one player forces the repetition by a series of checks. ...

Rooks are most powerful towards the end of a game, where they can move unobstructed by pawns and control large numbers of squares. They are somewhat clumsy at restraining enemy pawns from advancing towards promotion, unless they can occupy the file behind the advancing pawn. By the same token, a rook best supports a friendly pawn towards promotion from behind it in the same file.

Symbology

In heraldry, chess rooks are often used as charges. Unlike a real chess rook, they are conventionally shown with two outward-curving horns. This is because they would otherwise appear to be castle towers, since there is no proportion on a coat of arms. This charge is always blazoned "chess rook" so as not to be confused with the bird of that name; it is also not to be confused with the zule, a similar-looking object with two outward-curving horns at both top and bottom. Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. ... For other uses, see Rook. ...

In Canadian heraldry, the chess rook is the brisure of the fifth daughter. Cadency is any systematic way of distinguishing similar coats of arms belonging to members of the same family. ...

See also

• Tarrasch rule
• Rook and pawn versus rook endgame
• Lucena position
• Philidor position