How the rook moves in chess
The rook moves in straight lines: forwards, backwards and sideways, as many squares as it likes, as long as nothing is in the way. It captures by landing on an enemy piece.
The rules in short
- A rook moves along a file (a column) or a rank (a row), never diagonally.
- It can travel any number of squares, but it stops at the first piece it meets.
- If that piece is an enemy, the rook can capture it and take its place. If it is your own, the rook stops one square short.
- Each side starts with two rooks, in the corners. A rook is worth about five pawns.
Where rooks are strong
Rooks are at their best on open files, columns with no pawns on them. From there a rook can reach deep into the other side's position. That is why players often move a rook to a file once the pawns in front of it have been traded off.
Two rooks on the same file or rank protect each other and are very hard to deal with. Joining your rooks together is one of the goals of the opening.
A common beginner mistake
At the start of the game the rooks are boxed in by their own pawns and look useless. They are not, they just need time. Do not rush to trade a rook for a bishop or a knight early on: a rook is worth noticeably more.
Try it on a real board
This lesson is free and needs no account. You move the piece yourself on an interactive board, and it tells you straight away if the move is right.
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