The enemy king can be cut off along a rank as well as along a file, by placing the rook on a rank the king cannot step across. That keeps it away from the passed pawn.
Here White has the king on b3, a pawn on b4 and the rook on c5; Black has the king on d4 and the rook on b8. Black to move, and White wins (per the tablebases): the rook on c5 has cut the black king off along the fifth rank, and he cannot reach the b-pawn in time.
The lesson: cutting off along a rank is especially useful when the enemy king is beside the pawn. The point is to hold the barrier with the rook while your own king escorts the passer.
Drag a piece onto the board, or click a piece and then click the squares. The cross beside the pieces sweeps every piece of that colour off the board, and a single piece can be dragged off the edge.
The pieces will be arranged into the chosen pattern.
It is the mating side to move. Find mate in one.
Openings, endgame positions and breakthrough studies - the set-up appears on the board.
The rook takes up a rank the enemy king cannot cross, and he ends up severed from the passed pawn.
The Lucena technique: the rook goes to the fourth rank, screening its own king from checks, after which the pawn queens.
Not always, but with the pawn on the fifth or sixth rank and an active king it is usually a decisive advantage.
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