
Each player has two rooks, which are the middle-sized bits that look like castle towers. They may move any number of unoccupied squares along the file or rank on which they sit, but cannot move diagonally. In Diagram 15, the white rook may move to any of the dotted squares and may also capture the black queen by playing Rxg7.
	Remember the kings game in the Chapter 1 exercise? Here's another example of having an advantage if your opponent is forced to move when the kings block each other. In Diagram 16, White has just played Rg6+, leaving Black no choice but to move his king closer to the edge of the board. The edge of the board can be a dangerous place
If the black king was already on the edge of the board, as in Diagram 17, he would have nowhere to go. The black king is in check and cannot move out of check, so he is mated and the game is won by White. Later we will learn how a rook and king can force a lone king into checkmate. It's a little too tricky for now. But as we will see from the position in Diagram 18, two rooks working together can win easily
	The rook on a5 "builds a fence" (like the queen in Chapter 4) that restricts the black king to the 6th, 7th, and 8th ranks. White will now move the other rook to the 6th rank, "walking" the king to the 7th rank. After 1 Rh6+ Kc7 2 Ra7+ Kb8, we get to the position in Diagram 18.
Now White must take time to protect the rook on a7, because it could be captured by the black king. Rooks can move from one side of the board to the other, which gives their long legs a huge advantage over a slow-moving king.
	White simply plays 3 Rg7 and after the black king moves, say 3...Rc8, White plays 4 Rh8# and delivers the checkmate shown in Diagram 20. Now tackle the six exercises below, involving kings, queens and rooks.

Exercises If you can, write your answers using the notation you learned from Annexure A - Recording Moves Click on a board for answers.
Exercise 5.1 - Black to checkmate in one move.		Exercise 5.2 - White to mate in one move.
Exercise 5.3 - White to mate in one move.		Exercise 5.4 - White to mate using rook moves.
Exercise 5.5 - White has forced the black king into a position where checkmate can be delivered in two different ways. Can you find the moves?		Exercise 5.6 - Black to mate with rook moves. Hint: Build your first "fence" so the black king is on one side of it and the white king on the other.

Exercises