How the Rook Moves
The rook moves any number of squares along a rank or file.
Chess Basics
Move the rook onto the star
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About the Rook
A rook is worth about 5 pawns.
- It slides any distance along a rank (row) or file (column) but cannot jump over pieces.
- Rooks are strongest on open files, where no pawns block them, and on the seventh rank, where they attack pawns and trap the enemy king.
- Castling is the only move where the rook and king move together, which gets the king to safety and brings the rook toward the centre.
- Two rooks working together on the same file or rank can checkmate a lone king without help.
New to the game? Read our guide to how every chess piece moves, then drill the board with the coordinate trainer.