One way to stop a passer is to put the rook right in front of it, on the square it wants to move to. The pawn runs into the rook and cannot take a single step, while your own king comes up to help win it.
Here White has the king on d5 and a pawn on e5; Black has the king on a4 (far away) and the rook on e8. Black to move, and Black wins (per the tablebases): the rook on e8 has blockaded the e5 pawn from the front, and even without the king nearby Black collects it.
The lesson: a frontal blockade by the rook holds a lone pawn reliably. That is handy when your king is far off: the rook copes with the passer on its own.
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.
When the pawn is close to promotion and defending from behind is no longer possible: the rook stands directly in front and stops it getting through.
Tarrasch's rule states a preference, not a prohibition. With a far-advanced pawn, blockading from the front is often the only way to survive.
By bringing the king up and trying to drive the rook away or trade it off - which is why the defending side must keep its own king close.
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