Tarrasch rule

The Tarrasch rule is a general principle that applies in the majority of chess middlegames and endgames.

The next position is after White's 35th move in the eighth game of the Henrique Mecking versus Victor Korchnoi Candidates Quarterfinal match in 1974.

Black's rook is in front of his passed pawn on the a-file, and the game ended in a draw on move 55.

[12] Kantorovich analyzed the position in the diagram on the right and thought that Black draws with two tempi to spare.

Black's pieces are in their optimum positions: the rook is behind the a-pawn and attacking the f-pawn and the king is in its most active location.

[15] The evaluation of this type of position with an extra b-pawn is still in flux as of 2010, but current theory is that it is drawish.

This position from Nigel Short and Artur Yusupov in 1984[30] is an exception to the rule, since white's king is stuck in front of the pawn.

The position from a 1995 game between Andrei Kharlov and Alexander Morozevich[32] is one in which the Tarrasch rule does not apply (for Black).

The rule still applies for White, however, and the game continued: After 13.Kg2 Rc1 14.Rd8 b1=Q 15.Rb8+ Kc6 16.Rxb1 Rxb1 Black's king is close enough to the kingside pawns to stop them.

The 1993 game between Vladimir Kramnik and Alexander Beliavsky has an unusual position in which following the Tarrasch Rule is incorrect.

The endgame with rooks and f- and h-pawns was analyzed to be a draw by Mikhail Botvinnik in the 1940s (with correct defense).