Month 05 · Technique

Rook Endgame Mastery

Activity, Lucena, Philidor, Vancura, and practical conversion.

Weeks: 4
Days on the syllabus: 28
Written exercises: None yet
Planned time: ~42h

This page is the syllabus. The daily lessons for this month are not written yet, so opening a day shows that it is closed.

Open week 1

Builds on

Structure understanding from Month 04 plus Month 03 technique.

Prepares you for

Openings, which are chosen for the structures and endings they produce.

Why this month exists

Month 5 is a deep rook-endgame laboratory: theoretical positions, checking distances, connected passers, defensive resources, and practical techniques for both winning and holding.

What you will develop

Win and hold the core theoretical rook endings
Prioritize rook and king activity over pawn counting
Apply Vancura and side/behind checking ideas
Convert practical rook endings with technique

Weekly structure

Monthly challenge

Twenty practical rook endings played out against engine/coach with annotated technique notes.