CHESMAYNE

Its Now Or Never                                                                                Supernatural

Rook :RO

VII (the Chariot) in the Tarot deck of cards.   Hebrew letter: Cheth.   It signifies the field and its enclosure which is both boundary/enclosure and protection.   Enclosed within a vehicle like a crab.    It is balanced four square, stable and yet mobile.   The Moon rules the sign of Cancer, the crab.  The charioteer wears lunar crescents on his shoulders.   Sanskrit: ‘ratha’ (chariot).   ROs are best on open files and ranks.   At the beginning of a game, move them to the center where you will have created open files with mp moves.   RO1 and RO2 on the same file are known as ‘doubled-ROs’ (:do-RO) and strong, as they support one another.    They are very strong on open files where they are not blocked by mps and have extra strength on rank-7 where they can trap the opposing KI on the back rank.   On a clear board, the RO commands 14 cells (D-Array). 

Below Left: the RO may move to all of the red cells/squares marked

Below Right: the RO cannot move past PA2 on Rank-02 

      

Below Left:  the RO can capture B-PA4 on cell/square E06

Below Right: the RO can capture all of the B-PAs

   

The RO has the same capturing power as the QU, forward, backward and laterally (sideways), but cannot take any MP/mp diagonally.   RO1 and RO2 seldom have much scope for action in the early part of the game.   When the board is thinned out, no time should be lost in bringing them into the fight.   Endeavour to double your ROs (:do-ROs) by placing them on the same file.   In this position they sustain each other and their power will be equal to a QU.   If your opponent tries to gain control of a file with B-RO1 it is better to defend A-RO1 with A-RO2 than to capture B-RO1 or remove A-RO1.   If you can place a RO on your opponent’s 7^th rank this MP can attack the PAs that are unmoved (in the ISP) quite easily and compel your adversary to lose time defending them.   The main reason for moving KT1, KT2, BS1, BS2 and QU1 from the back rank is that they retard RO1 and RO2.    At the beginning of the game these MPs are inactive (activate them!).   Many games are lost before RO1 and RO2 are brought into play.   Ship (Rook): symbol of journey and passage.  

              

          The ranks and files are the domain of RO1 and RO2, which can move as far as desired across empty cells up, down or across the board in a straight line.   On an empty board RO1 or RO2, whatever cell they are on, thus have a choice of 14 cells to which they may move (8 x 8 board), 7 on the vertical line of cells through their own cell and 7 on the horizontal line.   Beginners often move mp-01 or mp-08 two cells, planning to get RO1 or RO2 into play via A03 or H03.   This is a very bad idea for two reasons.   One is that your opponent need only unblock BS1 on BS2 on whose diagonal A03 or H03 is located to make it inaccessible to RO1 or RO2.   The other is that RO1 or RO2 do not belong on the open board as long as they can be chased by the mps of your adversary.   Not only does repeatedly moving RO1 or RO2 lose developing tempo, but RO1 or RO2 may not find a safe place at all.   The proper way of developing RO1 and RO2 is by castling (%K, %Q) in order to let them cooperate with each other.   They can then be placed on rank-1 in files in which they may be able to invade the enemy’s territory or in which they may be useful in supporting an advanced MP or mp.   Also, when protecting each other on rank-1, they are in a position to contest the control of an open file which your opponent prepares to seize with a RO.   Many medieval buildings are known as castles or tombs of Digenis.   The Indian dawn-god Aruna is described as a charioteer of the sun.   See ‘Argil’, ‘Argot’ and ‘Auriga.’   When the QUs are exchanged early in a game it is better to move the KI to F01, bring the ROs into play, instead of castling, because there is less danger to your KI who may become a valuable auxilary during the remainder of the game.   It is not prudent to advance your PAs on the side that the KI has castled.   Rook – RO - Castle.   The RO is known by different names in differing countries: 

                          The RO may move any number of cells vertical or horizontal. 

                

 

 

 

Advice on Developing your ROs, Level-1

ROs should be left on the back rank, at the ends of effective files.

01 The most effective files are ‘open files’ (files free of mps). 

02 Next come ‘openable files’ (files that can at any time be cleared of mps by an exchange).

03 Then come ‘semi-open files’ (files that are clear of mps at least half-way along or can be so cleared).  

If there are two effective files, place a RO on each as soon as possible.   If there is only one, place at least one RO on it (if the file is open, you should if possible double RO1 and RO2 on it, one behind the other).   If there are no effective files then defer the development of RO1 and RO2 until an effective file is made.    Seize any open file with a RO as soon as possible.   But note that a RO commands a file just as well from the first cell in the file as from any other cell.   Therefore, as a rule, keep your RO there as long as the board remains crowded.   If moved out, your RO is exposed to attack.   ROs are stronger MPs than KTs or BSs.   RO1 or RO2 is usually worth roughly the same as a BS and two PAs, or a KT and two PAs.    KTs, BSs, ROs and QUs are MPs.   The RO can move in a straight line along a rank or file, but in one direction only each go.   RO1 and RO2 are not allowed to jump over an occupied cell (see ‘Chinese Chess’ - CN), except in the special case of castling.   RO1 or RO2 are equal to a BS and two PAs or, a KT and two PAs.  

ISP of the ROs.   They are usually given a value of 5 points each. 

 

ROs move any number of squares/cells in ‘one’ direction – vertical or horizontal. 

 

Connected ROs are very strong, :co-ROs, either in a file or rank. 

++CM with RO and mps

The commonest type of ending and the one that is the most often mishandled is the RO and mp finale.   To play the endgame well it is essential to have a thorough grasp of the basic principles of this ending, and it is significant that the greatest mature players of endgame play have been those that excelled in this particular type of ending.   The set winning position is known as the ‘Lucena position’ after a Spanish chess writer of the 15^th century.   The conditions normally necessary for a win with a RO and PA against RO are as follows - Level-1,

01 B-KI must be cut off from the promoting cell (rank-8). 

02 A-KI must be able to reach the promotion cell or, at the very least, be in contact with the mp. 

          It should be noted that much also depends on the file on which the mp is placed.   The most difficult is that on file-H (8 x 8 board) and frequently only a draw is possible in which the previous procedure will not work as A-KI cannot get away from the corner cell.   Having an aggressive RO position is considered an advantage in the endgame and to force your opponent into having ‘passive ROs’.   A ROs proper position is behind a :pa-PA (your own or an enemy PA). 

Rukh (Chariot) in ivory from Afrasiab, about VII/ VIII century, Uzbekistan State Museum, Samarkand (from “Roi des jeux, jeu des rois, les échecs”, Jean-Michel Péchiné, Gallimard).

The position below shows you how to bring about ++CM with just a KI and RO.   A-KI blocks B-KIs escape route.   Always remember that the two KIs can never stand next to one another.  The RO makes the winning move below – checkmate. 

Rook - Symbolism - Mythology

Castles/Citadel: the self - sometimes symbolized as two castles, the centers of two different kingdoms which need to be united.   The image of the castle emphasizes that it is as difficult to get to know the inner self as it is to storm a castle.   A female figure (the Damsel, incarcerated or enchanted, usually plays a key role).   Towns used to be laid out as part of a ritual with everything done and chosen for its symbolic value ie, a cemetery might be placed at the center of the city, as representing the trunk of the tree of life.  Symbolic significance of the ‘dream-house’, temples/churches built to designs represent an overall pattern of the psyche in mandala form.   Gargoyles on the outside of a church, represent monsters guarding the treasure.   Twin towers represent the split in the psyche.   The hero slays the dragon and extracts its teeth, which turn into mighty warriors when sown in the ground etc.   The RO - the governor of a castle - colloquial name.   A walled defensible enclosure, typically reached by a bridge over a circular moat of water: an ambivalent symbol in that it both includes and excludes.   It may protect its inhabitants against monsters, ogres, depending which side of its walls you stand.   In myth, castles typically contain a treasure (the Holy Grail, or royal prisoner - even the KI!).   An extension of the treasure-cave guarded by a dragon or a loathy worm, such a castle represents Camelot, a realm of spiritual aspiration and attainment.    In the human body, its treasure the mind, its mystery our ignorance as to our own true human nature. 

          Chariot: in the Katha Upanishad (III:3-4) it is written: “know that the Self is the lord of the chariot, the body verily is the chariot - know that the soul is the charioteer, and emotion the reins”.    They say that the bodily powers are the horses, and that the external world is their field.   In myth, chariots are drawn by many different creatures according to the nature of the charioteer. 

01 The solar chariot of Apollo is drawn by white horses.   Solar chariots may also be drawn by griffons or swans. 

02 The chariot of the Norse Thor is drawn by solar rams. 

03 The lunar chariot of Norse Freya by cats. 

04 That of the Celtic Flidass, goddess of wild things, by deer. 

05 That of Cybele by lions. 

06 That of Venus by doves. 

07 That of Pluto by black horses. 

The chariot of the Greek war god Ares is also horse drawn, as are the chariots of many battle heroes.  

01 Chariot symbolism survives in the 7^th card of the Major Arcana of the Tarot - the Chariot.   It portrays a spear-carrying prince erect in his chariot.   He holds no reins - the chariot is drawn not by horses but by two sphinxes, so as to imply the charioteer is one who has answered the riddle of the Sphinx and thus triumphed on all planes of human endeavour, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. 

02 Arianrhod: (‘Silver Wheel’), was associated with the constellation Corona Borealis  (‘Northern Crown’), in the starry regions, of which she maintained Caer Sidi, an otherworld castle of initiation where the dead went between incarnations. 

03 In the Welsch ‘The Tale of Taliesin’, Gwion-Taliesin, whose original country is in the summer stars, spends three periods in Arianrhod’s prison while awaiting resurrection. 

04 Bhagavad Gita: Arjuna, reluctant to make war on his cousins, is persuaded to do so by the god Krishna, his charioteer. 

ROOK Symbols

:ds-RO = Double Sacrifice RO.................................43:01

:co-ROs = Connected Rooks.....................................43:02

:di-ROs = Disconnected ROs....................................43:03

:co-KTs = Connected Knights...................................43:04

 

From: Chess Kids Home Page

Below Top: %Q or Queen-side castling. 

Below Bottom: %K or King-side castling. 

 

Below: :A has just castled King-side.  :B could %Q or %K on the next move. 

 

Below: :B has just castled on the Queen-side.  Castling on the Queen-side leaves your KI nearer the centre of the board.   Castling on the King-side leaves your KI nearer the corner of the board. 

 

Below: you can only castle if your KI has not been moved.   Below B-KI cannot castle because he has been moved from his home cell on E08 to D08.   :A cannot castle on the Queen-side below because A-RO1 has been moved to cell B02. 

 

Below: you may not castle if your KI is in +CH.   In the diagram below A-KI is attacked by BS2 on cell B04.   :A is not allowed to castle to escape +CH.   However, if you have been in +CH in the past but have not moved your KI you may still castle.

 

Below: A-KI cannot castle Queen-side because B-BS2 on cell A03 is attacking cell C01 or Rank-01.   The KI cannot cross a cell/square attacked by an enemy MP/mp. 

 

Below:  A-KI cannot castle KI-side or QU-side because B-RO2 attacks cell D01 and B-BS2 attacks cell F01.